Mount Everest has seen its first Covid-19 infection after a member of an expedition tested positive for the virus.
The infected person was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, last week while the rest of the group were forced to quarantine at Base Camp.
It comes as climbers have been allowed to return to the mountain this month for the first time since the pandemic hit.
Mount Everest has seen its first Covid-19 infection after a member of an expedition tested positive for the virus. File image of Mount Everest’s Base Camp above
Mountaineers and government officials stated climbers will be scaling the peak under Covid-19 restrictions.
A source told the publication Outside that the one person on the mountain had tested positive for Covid-19. It was initially thought they were suffering from high-altitude pulmonary edema.
Upon arrival at the Kathmandu hospital they tested positive for the virus.
No other cases have been detected and teams on the mountain are proceeding with the climbing season, which is predicted to be quieter than normal.
Nepal requires foreign travellers to take a Covid-19 test upon arrival in the country, as well as undergo a quarantine period.
In this file photo taken on September 14, 2013 Mount Everest is seen from an aircraft over Nepal
The climbing season restarted on the world’s greatest mountain this month after it was forced to close to climbers for a year due to the pandemic,
Over 300 climbers are predicted to attempt to scale the mountain, which stands at 29,032 feet (8,848.86 meters), this season, compared to 381 climbers, who attempted to climb it in the same period in 2019.