Nepal asks Everest climbers to bring back oxygen canisters as country battles Covid

The disclosure by a healthcare official came on Monday, after the country issued climbing permits to more than 700 climbers for 16 Himalayan peaks - 408 to Mount Everest - for the April-May climbing season in a bid to get the mountaineering industry and tourism back up and running.

A senior official has said that Sherpas and their clients have amassed 3,500 cannisters for use during the climb. Mountain climbers frequently use oxygen to aid in the ascend as the air thins out, making it difficult to move at higher altitudes. Most carry small reusable hand-held canisters.

Nepal is in the midst of a terrifying wave of the coronavirus pandemic, as the disease spills over form neighboring India to the nation. On Sunday, Nepal reported 8,777 cases, a 30 fold increase from the cases detected in early April.

In the capital Katmandu, many government and private hospitals are reporting a severe shortage of oxygen and have reportedly said that they have run out of beds. A health ministry official said on the record on Sunday that the country needs 25,000 canisters of oxygen immediately. He added that Nepal is also in desperate need of ICU beds, oxygen plants and compressors.

In the previous week, China stepped up to help Nepal, pledging to send ICU beds, ventilators, oxygen cylinders and other urgent medical supplies.