A place in the world to escape. Coronavirus did not get there but …

It is possible to escape from the Coronavirus. A place in the world has been preserved, according to research from the University of Cambridge. It’s Antarctica, 5,000 people and a universe of ice around it.

The continent of the Southern Hemisphere, the fourth largest area on the planet, after Asia, Africa and the Americas, with an area of ​​14 million square kilometers, is not an unspoiled piece of land. Among researchers, tourists, industries and fishermen, the populated areas filled up. Last year there were up to 75,000 tourists. However, researchers have questioned why Antarctica exists He remained unharmed. And it turns out that the combination of the end of the summer season in Antarctica and the immediate decision of the national operators operating there (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom as well as Brazil, Spain, Peru, and South Africa claiming the regions) to limit, if not block access Absolutely as of March, it has ensured that the epidemic has not crept into the territory. The scarcity of human existence and the difficulty of accessing Earth did the rest. Also, because Antarctica lacks specialized hospitals, such as being able to treat Covid if it appears in its most severe form. The “machine” is inevitable: 98% of the continent is ice.

The global disruption has translated into a temporary decline in human activity, for the 38 existing stations, but risks remain due to the resumption of researchers’ settlements and fisheries industries that have not effectively stopped. At the beginning of November, an expedition for British researchers began, but it did not reach any port to reach the southern continent and preceded the rise of the components with a 14-day quarantine.

In the first week of November, Italy also sent its researchers on an expedition to Antarctica, funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) as part of the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) and managed by ENEA and the National Research Council, revitalizing services at the research station, At Mario Zucchili’s Italian base, in Terra Nova Bay, after closing last March.

The research shows that it remains essential to try to keep the continent away from SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, distances and weather conditions do not allow true tracking of a limited population. However, hunting of krill, the most widely caught small crustacean species on the continent, continued, Although the movement of people to, from and around Antarctica continues to decrease.

Many countries have reported drastically scaling back their science plans for the 2020-21 field season, as have many universities and research institutes. Eliminating or postponing research funding and work interruptions, given the vital importance of the continent in understanding the evolution of ice on Earth, will lead to layoffs and retirement, The process that will mainly affect researchers and temporary workers.