Coronavirus enters Antartica, Over 36 people infected in Chilean base camp

The Chilean military team said that Coronavirus have now entered Antarctica. It was the only continent that was free from the virus.

The permanently staffed research station, operated by the Chilean military, is located near the tip of a peninsula in northern Antarctica, often overlooking a bay covered with icebergs.

In Patagonia, Chile, base personnel is already isolated and continuously monitored by health officials in Magellan, the military said, so far there were no complications.

Research and military stations in Antarctica - among the world's farthest - had gone to extraordinary lengths in recent months to keep out the virus, cancel tours, bring back activities and staff, and shut down facilities.

Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey estimated about 1,000 people at 38 stations across the frozen continent that they had secured the winter of the Southern Hemisphere without incident. But this southern spring and early summer have increased the risk of infection to travel through the region.

An army press official said that the first COVID-19 cases were reported in mid-December when two soldiers fell ill.

The Matlanes region is one of the most populated areas in Antarctica and the take-off point for many boats and aircraft heading to the continent, one of the hardest hit in Chile.

Majority of the region has remained on quarantine for months due to the cold winds emanating from the sea, mountains and glaciers.

The Chilean Navy also reported that three cases of COVID-19 have also been detected between 208 crew members of a ship that sailed into the Antarctic region between 27 November and 10 December.