Two-thirds of the staff were infected with the COVID-19 outbreak at the Antarctic research station in Belgium

Jimu news reporter Hu Li

According to the French "Evening News", belgium's Princess Elisabeth station in Antarctica broke out, two-thirds of the 25 staff members were infected with the new crown pneumonia virus, and the polar station has now implemented stricter measures to control the epidemic.

Princess Elizabeth Polar Station in Antarctica in 2009. Source: Agence France-Presse

The Belgian Antarctic Princess Elizabeth station, the world's first zero-emission polar research station, was commissioned in 2009 and has been closed to outsiders after the outbreak.

It is reported that the first infected person at the polar station was detected to be infected with the new crown pneumonia virus on December 14, when he returned to the station from South Africa. There were 3 people in the group returning from South Africa at the time, and when the first infected person was confirmed, the other two members also tested positive for nucleic acid. All three were quarantined on December 23, but this did not stop the spread of the virus, and more staff at the polar station were confirmed.

According to the BBC, at least 16 of the 25 staff members at princess Elizabeth Polar Station have been infected with the virus since 14 December. However, because all the members working at the polar station were vaccinated with two doses, none of the people infected with the virus developed severe symptoms.

Joseph Cheek, project manager at the International Polar Foundation, said: "While it is inconvenient to have to isolate certain staff infected with the virus, it has not significantly affected our overall work at the research station. All staff at the station could have left on their scheduled flight on January 12. However, they all expressed a desire to stay and continue to work. ”

Moreover, this is not the first outbreak at a research station in Antarctica. Last year, Chile's research site in Antarctica reported 36 positive covid-19 tests.

According to the Canadian media "National Post" reported that Antarctica, as one of the most remote places in the world, still has no way to escape the invasion of the virus, which really confirms the sentence "under the nest, there is a complete egg".