True: Vaccinated researchers in Antarctica tested positive for COVID-19.

By: Gayathri Loka
January 5 2022

Share Article: facebook logo twitter logo linkedin logo
True: Vaccinated researchers in Antarctica tested positive for COVID-19.

Fact-Check

The Verdict True

Two-thirds of the 25 vaccinated workers at the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Polar Station in Antarctica tested positive on December 14,2021.

Claim ID c347148b

Two-thirds of the 25 vaccinated workers at the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Polar Station in Antarctica tested positive on December 14,2021.Since the Omicron outbreak, multiple social media posts about increasing infection rates are being shared. Some recent posts published articles about a Belgian research team in Antarctica, infected by COVID-19, even after being fully vaccinated. Le Soir, a Belgian magazine, was the first to report these cases. A Belgian scientific research station in Antarctica, at the Princess Elisabeth Polar Station, reported its first COVID-19 case on December 14, 2021. Despite isolating the infected person, two other researchers also tested positive. The three infected people were evacuated on December 23, 2021. Two-thirds of the people in the research station were infected. However, no one suffered from severe symptoms. All researchers were fully vaccinated. On January 3, 2021, BBC reported that 16 of the 25 workers in the research station were infected. Joseph Cheek, a project manager for the International Polar Foundation, told the BBC that the situation isn't dramatic. It was inconvenient to have to quarantine certain staff members who caught the virus. It didn't significantly affect the work at the station overall. The New York Times (NYT) reported that only one researcher had taken a booster shot, whereas everyone was fully vaccinated. The research station management told NYT that new arrivals are required to take a PCR test within 72 hours of flying to Cape Town. Following which they are required to quarantine for five days; take another PCR test within 48 hours of flying from Cape Town to Antarctica; and take a final test five days after arriving at the Princess Elisabeth Station.

Would you like to submit a claim to fact-check or contact our editorial team?

0
Global Fact-Checks Completed

We rely on information to make meaningful decisions that affect our lives, but the nature of the internet means that misinformation reaches more people faster than ever before