China has decided to cancel all climbing activities on Mount Everest amid fears of possible imported Covid-19 cases, according to an official statement.
The statement was issued on Friday by China’s General Administration of Sport, which reports Xinhua news agency.
Everest straddles the China-Nepal border, with its northern part located in Tingri County, Tibet.
According to Himalayan Expedition, the only expedition organiser on the north side this climbing season, all montaineers have been resting in Tingri for the past few days, and the company will not make another attempt to ascend.
The Nepalese side, having issued record-high 408 climbing permits amid the Covid pandemic, saw the first successful summit of this season on May 7.
Two climbers, one from Switzerland and another from the US, died on the mountain on Wednesday, the Nepalese side confirmed to Xinhua, adding that neither death was related to Covid-19.
CIWEC Hospital, a Kathmandu-based facility dedicated to the treatment of mountaineers, had several mountaineers airlifted from the base camp of Mt. Everest three weeks ago after they developed symptoms of the disease.
“They were confirmed to be infected with coronavirus in the polymerase chain reaction test,” Astha Pant, head of business development at the Kathmandu hospital, told Xinhua.
“All have been discharged from the hospital.”
