Until recently, Antarctica was the only continent with no reported COVID-19 cases across the world. Unfortunately, Antarctica joins the global community in the struggle against the pandemic after reporting 36 cases of coronavirus.
First COVID-19 Cases Detected at Chilean Base
Chilean authorities reported 36 cases of coronavirus at one of their bases in Antarctica. On the following day, a regional health minister in Chile announced 21 additional cases on a supply ship sailing from the Antarctic Peninsula to Chile.
A while later, the regional health secretary Eduardo Castillo reported another coronavirus case at an Antarctic village where the same supply ship had docked.
A spokesperson of the U.S. National Science Foundation stated that they are informed of the outbreak, although the U.S. Antarctic Program station staff have no contact with Chilean bases.
There are no other countries with a presence in Antarctica that have reported COVID-19 cases so far. Due to the recent coronavirus surge, many countries have reduced the number of researchers who travel to Antarctica, although lots of people continue to visit the continent for science purposes.
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