The COVID-19 Pandemic May Be the Hardest Mountain Nepal ’s Sherpas Have Ever Had to Climb

Everest South Base Camp lies at an altitude of 17,598 feet (5,364 m), but it is no refuge from the global pandemic. The Nepali Sherpas who, in normal times, share the camaraderie of climbers on the world’s highest mountain, now enforce strict social-distancing rules, remaining within their separate camps—indeed, mostly inside their own tents. “We have made a rule not to walk from one camp to another as some climbers have tested positive,” says Phunuru, a Sherpa guide. “If we see somebody new walking around our camp, we immediately start an inquiry.” Officially, there is no coronavirus here. “Around 100 people have scaled Everest last week and rest will be climbing this week,” Rudra Singh Tamang, director general of the Department of Tourism, tells TIME. “Everything is fine.” But many climbers say otherwise. “The COVID situation at [Base Camp] is a total s—storm,” American Gina Marie Han-Lee wrote in a Facebook post in late April. “I had no clue what I was flying into.” Other climbers, from Norway and the U.K., have tested positive and one local doctor—who declined to be named, citing official harassment—told TIME that “two dozen climbers have been evacuated from Base Camp to Kathmandu and they later tested positive at a hospital.” What happens on this remote, majestic mountain poses questions for tourism operators everywhere. Countries are making tentative attemp...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Nepal overnight Source Type: news