Mount Everest Covid outbreak has infected 100 people at base camp, says guide

Austrian expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach says the real number could be 200, despite official Nepali denials

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A coronavirus outbreak on Mount Everest has infected at least 100 climbers and support staff, a mountaineering guide said, giving the first comprehensive estimate amid official Nepalese denials that the disease has spread to the world's highest peak.

Lukas Furtenbach of Austria, who last week halted his Everest expedition due to virus fears, said on Saturday one of his foreign guides and six Nepali Sherpa guides had tested positive.