covid-19 pandemic in antarctica covid-19 pandemic in antarctica the covid-19 pandemic in antarctica is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2). due to its remoteness and sparse population, antarctica was the last continent to have confirmed cases of covid-19 and was one of the last regions of the world affected directly by the pandemic. the first cases were reported in december 2020, almost a year after the first cases of covid-19 were detected in china. at least 36 people are confirmed to have been infected. even before the first cases on the continent were reported, human activity in antarctica was indirectly impacted. covid-19 pandemic in antarcticaconfirmed cases in antarcticadiseasecovid-19virus strainsars-cov-2locationantarcticafirst outbreakwuhan, hubei, chinaindex casebase general bernardo o'higgins (chile)arrival date21 december 2020(2 years, 4 months, 3 weeks and 1 day ago)confirmed cases226active cases0suspected cases‡1recovered226deaths0territories chilean antarctic territory‡suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out. part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations into origin lockdowns by country misinformation by governments fake treatments social distancing software travel united nations world health organization wto ip waiver undercounting of deaths covid-19 apps zero-covid national responses africa china european union germany ghana india ireland netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia sweden uk government us federal government vietnam medical response disease testing breathalyzer development drug development drug repurposing public health mitigation vaccines history research vitt deployment authorizations operation warp speed misinformation and hesitancy us vaccine card vaccine passports current vaccines coronavac covaxin convidecia janssen medigen moderna novavax oxford–astrazeneca pfizer–biontech sinopharm bibp sputnik v variants variants of concern alpha beta gamma delta omicron other variants epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda mu cluster 5 lineage b.1.617 economic impact and recession arts and culture aviation cannabis cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal background a nurse at mcmurdo station sets up the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) testing equipment, in september 2020. on 12 january 2020, the world health organization (who) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in wuhan, hubei, china, which was reported to the who on 31 december 2019. the case fatality ratio for covid-19 has been much lower than sars of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. impact on scientific research people coming to antarctica research stations have to undergo isolation and covid-19 screening. the antarctica research stations of australia, norway and germany have respirators and coronavirus tests; it remains unconfirmed whether the research stations of the u.s. and britain have them. the british antarctic survey implemented precautionary measures. the argentine antarctica territories had taken measures at its six permanent bases to prevent the spread of covid-19 to the territory before the arrival of the virus. the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on travel caused complications with evacuating british antarctic survey personnel from the continent. as of 14 april 2020, bases in antarctica contain only skeleton crews, visitors have been limited, and scientific research has been impacted. several conferences on the topic of antarctica that had been planned for mid-2020 were cancelled due to the pandemic. cases view of the base general bernardo o'higgins, where the first cases of covid-19 in antarctica were reported. covid-19 cases in antarctica () deaths recoveries active cases2020202020212021decdecjanjanlast 15 dayslast 15 days date# of cases# of deaths 2020-12-2532(n.a.) ⋮ 2020-12-2832(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-0158(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-0458(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-0858(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-1158(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-1558(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-1858(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-2258(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-2558(n.a.) ⋮ 2021-01-2958(n.a.) cumulative cases reported in antarctica to date. sources: ministry of science and technology of chile in april 2020, a cruise ship headed for antarctica had almost sixty percent of its passengers test positive for covid-19. the cruise stopped in uruguay, where the passengers were allowed to disembark. the first official cases were announced on 21 december 2020 by the government of chile. at least 36 people, including 10 civilians and 26 officers of the chilean army and chilean navy, were confirmed as positive for covid-19 after contracting the virus on the base general bernardo o'higgins riquelme (in continental antarctica), where they were doing scheduled maintenance work for the base. the people developed symptoms for covid-19 aboard the sargento aldea ship, and most of the cases were treated after arriving to their destinations in punta arenas and talcahuano. on 14 december 2021, a positive case was detected at the belgian research station princesse elisabeth in queen maud land. further tests revealed two more cases that were subsequently evacuated on 23 december. 11 of the 30 people present at the station were tested positive. on 12 january 2022, 13 positive cases were detected at esperanza base in argentine antarctica. further tests detected 11 more cases, totaling 24 positive cases. on 13 september 2022, one positive case was detected at davis station in australian antarctic territory. first unspecified case detected at port in hobart on 10 january 2022. the first confirmed case at mcmurdo station in ross dependency was detected in august 2022. by november, 10% of the population of station's population was confirmed to be infected. as of february 2023, a total of 175 positive cases have been detected. covid also reached amundsen-scott south pole station and wais divide. on 8 november 2022, 20 positive cases were detected at dumont d'urville station in adélie land. 20 of the 21 people present at the station were tested positive. covid reached new zealand's scott base, located several miles from mcmurdo station, in february of 2023. vaccination on 18 march 2021, the chilean air force announced they inoculated 49 members of their staff in antarctica, being the first country to start vaccinating against covid-19 in the continent. on 7 october 2021, astra-zeneca vaccines arrived in antarctica to vaccinate 23 members of staff that are working for the british antarctic survey in the rothera base. statistics cases by territories and sites territory site operating country cases historical cases deaths