At least 36 people have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Bernardo O’Higgins base in Antarctica. This was the last remaining continent in the world that had not been affected by the coronavirus until now.
They include 26 army personnel and 10 civilian contractors at Chile’s permanently-staffed research station on the southernmost continent.
South Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica.
According to IOL, the infected people are being isolated and cared for in Magallanes, a travel hub in southern Chile that operates tourist activities and research missions to and from Antarctica.
The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs have raised their concerns over the new coronavirus cases on the continent. ‘A highly infectious novel virus with significant mortality and morbidity in the extreme and austere environment of Antarctica with limited sophistication of medical care and public health responses is high risk with potential catastrophic consequences,’ they said in a statement according to The Guardian.
Antarctica has no permanent residents, but has some 40 permanent research stations operated by various institutions.
Picture: Unsplash
