Over 30 sick climbers evacuated in Nepal
More than 30 sick climbers have been evacuated from the foot of Mount Everest, raising fears that the coronavirus may scupper a hoped-for bumper season on the world’s highest mountain.
Nepal’s tourism industry suffered a devastating blow last year when the pandemic prompted a complete shutdown of its summits, costing millions in lost revenue.
This year authorities have eased quarantine rules in an effort to lure back foreign adventurers and have issued climbing permits to more than 400 people, a new record.
An Everest permit alone costs $11,000 and climbers pay upward of $40,000 for an expedition. But the warmer weather that ushers in safer conditions for scaling Nepal’s dangerous, snow-capped peaks has coincided with a deadly second wave of Covid-19 infections, with active cases in the country rising six-fold in the last two weeks.
Norwegian climber Erlend Ness spent two nights sleeping in his tent at base camp last month, unsure of what was making him unwell.
Officials at a health clinic catering to the climbers say more than 30 people have been flown off the camp in recent weeks. At least two have tested positive after returning to the capital Kathmandu. But the government has yet to confirm a single Covid case on Everest.
Doctors in Nepal warn of deepening Covid crisis
Across the border from a devastating surge in India, doctors in Nepal have warned of a major crisis as daily coronavirus cases hit a record and hospitals were running out of beds and oxygen.
Nepal reported 9,070 new confirmed cases on Thursday, compared to 298 a month ago. The number of fatalities also reached its highest with 58 on Wednesday and 54 on Thursday, for a total of 3,529.
“Right now, there are no beds available today in any hospital that is treating Covid patients,” said Jyotindra Sharma, chief of Hospital for Advanced Medicine & Surgery in Kathmandu. At the hospital, one of the leading facilities in Nepal for treating Covid-19 patients, extra beds were crammed to accommodate more people. “They’ve all been taken and the only way to get admitted is through a waiting list.”