China bans climbing Everest due to risk of coronavirus from Nepal

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China has banned climbing Everest from its side of the world's highest peak to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 from climbers from the bordering side - Nepal.

While China has largely curbed the spread of the coronavirus, the neighboring country is seeing a surge in record numbers of new infections and deaths, says Xinhua News Agency. What's more, in Nepal, several climbers reported testing positive for COVID-19 after descend from Everest Base Camp.

This spring, China issued permission to storm the giant to only 38 Chinese citizens, while Nepal issued permits to 408 climbers from different countries. Last year, due to the pandemic, there were no ascents at all.

The best time for climbing is May. Despite the fact that this year the flow of climbers is very modest, Nepal recorded the death of two summit climbers at once - from Switzerland and the United States.