China erecting firewall at Mount Everest to ward off Covid from Nepal side of peak

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China has decided to set up a "separation line" on the peak of Mount Everest to avoid possible Covid-19 infections by mountaineers from the  Nepal side, according to Xinhua news agency.</p>
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The move comes after news that 30 climbers with Covid-19 symptoms were evacuated from the base camp on the Nepalese side of the world's highest mountain in recent weeks.</p>
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Mount Everest is situated on the China-Nepal border, with the north slope falling on the Chinese side.</p>
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Tibetan authorities said at a press conference they would take the "most stringent epidemic prevention measures" to avoid contact between climbers on the north and south slopes or at the top, the <em>Xinhua</em> report said on Sunday.</p>
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Mountain guides will set up dividing lines on the summit of the mountain before allowing mountaineers to start the gruelling climb to the peak, the head of the Tibet Mountaineering Association was quoted as saying by Xinhua.</p>
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The official did not provide details on how the dividing lines would be erected.</p>
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Chinese has given approval to 21 mountaineers to climb to the summit of Mount Everest this year after having quarantined in Tibet since early April, the official said.</p>
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The Chinese side will also step up virus control measures at their base camp on the northern side of the mountain, with non-climber tourists in the Everest scenic area forbidden to enter.</p>
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China has banned foreign nationals from climbing Everest since last year due to the coronavirus outbreak.</p>
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However, this year Nepal has issued a record number of climbing permits to try and boost visitors after its tourism industry suffered a devastating blow through 2020 from the pandemic.</p>
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An Everest permit alone from Nepal costs $11,000 and climbers more than $40,000 for an expedition.</p>
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More than a thousand people are usually camped at the  base of Mount Everest on the Nepalese side during the climbing season, including foreign climbers and the teams of Nepali guides that escort them to the peak.</p>
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Nepal has issued a record 394 permits so far this year for expeditions to Mount Everest despite the surging coronavirus pandemic. Everest had been closed to mountaineers last year because of the coronavirus pandemic but the season resumed this year as foreign expeditions climbers are a major source of revenue for the Nepalese government.</p>
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Authorities are mandating that visiting climbers quarantine in Nepal before proceeding to base camp, but concerns have been raised by some travel firms that there is a risk of a serious outbreak Covid-19. Many organisers had scrapped plans of taking expeditions to Mount Everest this year.</p>
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In the last three weeks, Nepal's daily case trajectory has shot up with 40 per cent people tested turning out to be positive.</p>