Chilean Army/Reuters
Antarctica is no longer the only continent free of the pandemic.
Thirty-six people stationed at the General Bernardo O Higgins Riquelme Antarctic base had tested positive for the virus, Chilean officials said this week. The permanent research station is located on tip of the continent south of Chile.
Of those infected, 26 are members of the Chilean army and 10 are civilian maintenance personnel, authorities said in a statement to the Spanish-language television channel 24 Horas. The officials added that contact tracing was underway and those who tested positive were in isolation.
No other countries have publicly reported positive cases on Antarctica, USA Today reported, and there have been concerted efforts to ensure the virus did not reach the remote continent.
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Dr. Cindy Prins, as epidemiologist at the University of Florida, once told me that COVID-19 is a behavioral disease. What she meant was that people who work from home, or those who in general avoid other people, have a very low risk of getting infected with it. That is because the coronavirus spreads from person to person, through respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, or talking. This is part of the reason why remote locations where people infrequently go like Antarctica have been able to avoid its deathly grip thus far.
Unfortunately, the icy southernmost continent is no longer untouched by the pandemic.
Antarctica Reports First COVID-19 Outbreak By Carolyn Crist
Dec. 24, 2020 Antarctica reported 36 COVID-19 cases this week, which means the coronavirus is on every continent.
The General Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme research base on the northern tip of Antarctica near Chile confirmed that 26 Chilean army personnel and 10 civilian maintenance personnel tested positive, according to CNN.
In addition, three people tested positive for COVID-19 on a military ship that provided support to the research base between Nov. 27 and Dec. 10. Crew members were tested for the virus after arriving at Chile’s Punta Arenas port on Dec. 10.
The research base personnel who tested positive were evacuated to Chile and are now being isolated and monitored there, according to the BBC. So far, the staff hasn’t recorded any complications associated with COVID-19.
COVID-19 pandemic reaches Antarctica, last untouched continent
By EVA VERGARA The Associated Press,Updated December 22, 2020, 6:47 p.m.
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SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) â The pandemic has finally reached every continent on Earth.
Chilean authorities announced that at least 58 people that were at two military bases in Antarctica or on a navy ship that went to the continent tested positive for the new coronavirus.
So far no other country with a presence in Antarctica has publicly reported any other cases.
Chile s army announced Monday that 36 people at the Gen. Bernardo O Higgins Riquelme Antarctic base have tested positive, and on Tuesday the health minister for the Biobio region in Chile said there are 21 infections involving people aboard the Chilean navy s Sergeant Aldea supply vessel.
The Coronavirus Has Reached Antarctica. Now It s On Every Continent
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Chilean officials report 36 people have tested positive for the coronavirus on Antarctica. The permanent research station is located on tip of the continent south of Chile.
Chilean Army / Reuters
Antarctica is no longer the only continent free of the pandemic.
Thirty-six people stationed at the General Bernardo O Higgins Riquelme Antarctic base had tested positive for the virus, Chilean officials said this week. The permanent research station is located on tip of the continent south of Chile.
Of those infected, 26 are members of the Chilean army and 10 are civilian maintenance personnel, authorities said in a statement to the Spanish-language television channel 24 Horas. The officials added that contact tracing was underway and those who tested positive were in isolation.