A Covid outbreak has hit a small research team living in a remote scientific station in Antarctica.
Out of 25 workers at the Princess Elisabeth Polar Station, 16 have contracted coronavirus since mid-December, reports the i.
Those at the Belgian outpost had all been tested prior to departure and had been fully vaccinated.
Officials say all cases are mild so far and staff continue to work. They were given the opportunity to leave in mid-January but have all decided to stay.
"The situation isn’t dramatic,” Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC.
“While it has been an inconvenience to have to quarantine certain members of the staff who caught the virus, it hasn’t significantly affected our work at the station overall.
“All residents of the station were offered the opportunity to leave on a scheduled flight on 12 January. However, they all expressed their wish to stay and continue their work.”
Antarctica recorded its first coronavirus case in December 2020, and was the last continent to detect the virus through an outbreak at a Chilean army base, with 36 people testing positive.
There are 70 research bases at the South Pole, including five British stations.
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