Coronavirus: Nepal closes Everest and bans tourists

Text by: RFI Follow

Nepal followed in the footsteps of China on Friday March 13 and suspended the issuance of Mount Everest climbing permits due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The country thus closes the access to the "Roof of the world" a few weeks before the start of high season.

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Everest will remain virgin this spring. In the hope of preventing the spread of the new coronavirus on its territory, Kathmandu has suspended climbs on all of its mountains and stops issuing tourist visas.

" The government, " said Nepalese Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai, has decided to suspend all spring expeditions and to cancel the climbing permits for the time being. The decision can be reconsidered after analyzing the world situation in the coming month. "

Nepal has identified only one confirmed case of new coronavirus to date. This decision, greeted with resignation by professionals in the sector, is a severe blow to the local economy, for which Himalayan tourism is a crucial source of foreign exchange.

" We understand the terrible consequences that a Covid-19 epidemic would have at [Everest] base camp. Unfortunately, we have to agree that this is a wise decision , "said mountaineer Lukas Furtenbach, director of a shipping agency, in a statement.

“ Devastating impact on tourism and the economy ”

Highest summit of the Earth with its 8 848 m of altitude, Everest is accessible by China via its North slope, and by Nepal in the South. Chinese authorities have already notified expedition organizers this week that the Tibetan route, the least traveled, will remain closed this season.

At $ 11,000 per capita, Everest climbing permits alone raised $ 4.4 million in Nepal last year. The mountains are the main tourist attraction in the country and generate many jobs and income.

Government action will "have a devastating impact on our tourism and our economy." Businesses will suffer and workers will suffer even more. But it is the responsible choice to make in view of the risks, ”said Santa Bir Lama, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association .

Third closure in less than ten years

The ascent of Everest is traditionally done in April-May. The weather at this time offered a narrow window of less extreme conditions for climbing to the top.

Last season's peak season saw a record 885 people climb to the top, 644 from Nepal and 241 from China. The crowd had caused human traffic jams in the "death zone", the images of which had gone around the world.

Participants in the Tenzing-Hillary marathon in Nepal, May 29, 2019. HANDOUT / TENZING-HILLARY EVEREST MARATHON / AFP

It is the third time in less than ten years that Nepal has closed access to Everest in the spring. In 2014, after a deadly avalanche, and in 2015, following an earthquake that had ravaged the country.

► Also read : Climbing Everest: end of a particularly deadly season

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• Coronavirus
• Nepal
• Tourism

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