Kathmandu, April 23
The government of Nepal says reports of the coronavirus infection at the Everest Base Camp have not been confirmed by the government yet.
Hours after the BBC reported that Norwegian climber Erlend Ness told the British media that he “was isolated in hospital for eight nights due to the virus”, Nepal’s Department of Tourism Chief Rudra Singh Tamang informed Onlinekhabar that hospital reports that he obtained did not confirm the infection.
“Our reports mention he had pneumonia although he had Covid-19 symptoms,” Tamang said.
“The patient has been discharged from the hospital already and he does not have any symptom,” he said, adding the department had tested the climber’s guide also for the virus, and he tested negative.
Nonetheless, Tamang also admitted the risk of pandemic spread at the base camp is high due to the high number of climbers.
“If the virus spreads there, we might face a situation that we cannot control,” he said, “We, hence, have already asked them to maintain high levels of alert.”
