Kathmandu: Symptoms of the coronavirus have been found at Everest’s base camp, the world’s highest peak.
It was first reported that a climber at base camp was evacuated by helicopter for what was believed to be high-altitude pulmonary edema and tested positive for the coronavirus upon arriving at a hospital in here last week.
Media reports said there had been multiple climbers who tested positive after being flown out of base camp recently.
Nepal’s tourism ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. The exact number of cases is unknown. Making matters even worse, many common coronavirus symptoms bear a close resemblance to the symptoms of altitude sickness and the “Khumbu cough” that often plagues climbers at high altitudes.
Nepal’s tourism department had issued 377 climbing permits to foreign climbers attempting to scale Everest this year, Â close to the same number issued in 2019, when 11 people died on the peak and numerous fatalities were blamed on the long wait to descend from the summit to base camp.
As one of the poorest countries in Asia, Nepal is heavily dependent on foreign tourists, some who see Everest as the culmination of a lifelong dream. Last year, that income source vanished as the pandemic hit and Nepal closed its borders, canceling climbing expeditions. Nepali mountain guides – including some of the best climbers in the world – suddenly found themselves in poverty, forced to rely on growing rye and potatoes for sustenance.