Covid19 has reached the world’s highest peak, Mt Everest, after Norwegian mountaineer Erlend Ness tested positive for the virus.
A media report quoted Erlend Ness as saying, “My diagnosis is COVID-19.”
He also said, “I’m doing ok now… The hospital is taking care (of me).”
Climber Ness, who was evacuated from the slopes of Mt Everest by a helicopter, was admitted to a hospital in Kathmandu, the national capital of Nepal.
In an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Erlend Ness informed that a sherpa in his party had also tested positive for Covid19.
Ness told NRK: “I really hope that none of the others get infected with corona high up in the mountains.”
“It is impossible to evacuate people with a helicopter when they’re above 8,000 metres,” the Norwegian climber said.
Ness further said: “The plan was to get fast high up in the mountains to make sure that we wouldn’t get infected… I’ve been unlucky and I could have done more by myself when it comes to sanitary precautions.”
The report quoted Prativa Pandey, medical director at Kathmandu’s CIWEC Hospital as saying that some patients, who were evacuated from Everest, tested Covid19 positive.
“I can’t share the details but some evacuated from Everest have tested positive,” Pandey said.
However, the tourism department of Nepal said they had no reports of Covid19 positive cases among the mountaineers.
The report quoted Mira Acharya, a spokesperson for the tourism department of Nepal said: “A person was evacuated on April 15 but we were informed that he is suffering from pneumonia and is being treated in isolation. That is all the information we have received.”