Climbers with Covid-19 symptoms and positive tests are becoming more common in Mount Everest, according to mountaineers and authorities at Everest base camp in Nepal, raising fears of a severe outbreak.

After arriving from Everest base camp, personnel at the CIWEC clinic in Kathmandu verified that patients had tested positive for coronavirus.

The Nepalese government has denied having any awareness of positive cases at Everest base camp, raising fears that officials are downplaying the severity of the situation to avoid putting further pressure on the mountain to close it to expeditions.

The prince of Bahrain, Sheik Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and his group of 16 completed the summit on May 11. According to the Director of Mountaineering Division, Department of Tourism, Meera Acharya, Sheik Nasser has become the first foreign national to successfully climb Everest since it was remeasured in December 2020. 

Critics have speculated that the reason behind the government's deniability about the surge in Everest base camp has something to do with Prince Nasser's presence in the Everest. 

Hospitals have seen a spike in Covid-positive climbers who came to them as patients. 

In recent weeks, the number of coronavirus cases in Nepal has risen dramatically, and the country now has the highest infection rate among the countries bordering India, where a second wave has triggered a full-fledged crisis.

Director of the Department of Tourism Mira Acharya told BL Media that  70 climbers reached the summit just on Wednesday.