Covid-19 has reached Antarctica

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): Some of us may have fancied or imagined that we can escape the Covid-19 pandemic by going to some remote region of the planet, such as Antarctica.

Well, sorry for dashing your hopes but the dreaded virus has now reached the shores of the southern icy continent.

Reuters reported that “at least 36 people” at Chile's Bernardo O'Higgins base have been infected by Covid-19.

Chile’s Bernardo O'Higgins base is operated by its army, which stated that those infected are “26 army personnel and 10 civilian contractors conducting maintenance at the base”.

The army said that personnel in the base "are already properly isolated and constantly monitored" by health authorities in Magallanes, in Chile’s Patagonia region, reported Reuters

It has also been reported that “there had so far been no complications” among the infected.

According to another report by Merco Press the “contagion was traced to a Chilean navy support vessel Sargento Aldea” which arrived at the base from Nov 27 to Dec 10 for a logistics mission.

Until these latest cases, Antarctica was one of the few places on the globe “which was free of the coronavirus, following an upgrading of controls and cancelling of all tourist visits to the region” said Merco Press.

Meanwhile, “non indispensable staff” at Bernardo O'Higgins base have been flown back to Chile.

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