A Timeline of Major World Events in 2020 [Pictures]
2020 will be remembered in the history books as one of the worst years. The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world to its core as people all over the world were impacted and they were forced to follow SOPs, practice social distancing, and limit human interaction.
The COVID-19 pandemic might be the most important event of the year, but it was not the only one. We almost witnessed World War 3 at the start of the year, the Black Lives Matter movement was at an all-time high, and a state of emergency was imposed in many Asian and African countries due to massive locust attacks.
The most isolated continent on the planet now reports cases of COVID-19
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Karen TownsendPosted at 9:01 pm on December 22, 2020
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Base General Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme is a permanently staffed Chilean research station in Antarctica. It is one of four permanent bases that Chile has in the Antarctic. It is operated by the Chilean army. Antarctica is the last of the seven continents to report cases of the coronavirus. Authorities confirmed 36 positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
Scientific research being conducted on the continent has been scaled back due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. Scheduled maintenance was being performed in this area. The positive cases come from 26 Army personnel and 10 civilians from a contractor company. The news came just days after Chile’s navy confirmed three cases on a ship that had taken supplies and personnel to the research station. The virus was brought into the research station.
COVID-19 reaches final continent: 36 cases reported from Antarctic research station
Photo: Pixabay
For many months now, reports about the global impact of COVID-19 have had to make note of the fact that the deadly virus had affected only six of the continents. Even as cases rose to tens of millions, the tally had segregated caseload by country, with the US and India leading the charts. All that has now changed.
According to reports that quote the Chilean army, Antarctica has recorded its first COVID-19 cases at a research base. The Base General Bernardo O Higgins Riquelme had reportedly undergone it s annual exchange of personnel in recent days. 24 Horas quotes a statement by the Army to add that the people in question had been relieved after they tested positive. They had been subjected to a medical control and the administration of a PCR test before the diagnosis. The list includes 26 members of the Chilean army and 10 maintenance workers.
Covid-19 has finally reached Antarctica, making it the last continent to be affected by the pandemic.
Some 36 civilian and army personnel at a Chilean research station on the continent tested positive for coronavirus, according to Chile’s army and health ministry officials in the southern Chilean province of Magallanes.
Chilean officials are investigating how the virus reached the Base General Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme, said a spokesman for the Health Ministry in Magallanes, Chile’s southernmost region. He said that so far none of the infected men have had severe symptoms.
The 26 army personnel and 10 civilians, who are contractors for a company doing maintenance at the base, were evacuated to the city of Punta Arenas, where the army’s fifth division said they have been put in isolation and are under “constant monitoring.”
Isabella Kwai, The New York Times Published: 23 Dec 2020 12:10 AM BdST Updated: 23 Dec 2020 01:58 AM BdST Chile s Bernardo O Higgins army base is seen at Antarctica in this undated handout photo provided by the Chilean Army on December 22, 2020. Chilean Army/Handout via REUTERS People walk along Orne Harbour, Antarctica, February 6, 2020. Reuters
Antarctica is no longer the last continent free from the coronavirus after 36 people stationed at a Chilean research base tested positive, local media reported. ); }
The virus was detected in 26 members of the Chilean military and 10 maintenance workers stationed at the Base General Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme in the Antarctic Peninsula, authorities said in a statement to 24 Horas, adding that they were tested after reports that some had developed symptoms.