Antarctic Institute of Canada Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Background/Question/Methods
Background: The coronavirus pandemic severely compromises the ability of tourists, personnel, researchers, and visitor populations in the Arctic from carrying out pertinent projects. Concerns have been expressed regarding the potential human introduction of this virus to the continent through the activities of research or tourism to minimize the effects on human health, and the potential for virus transmission to Arctic wildlife. Our objective was to review the current literature to synthesize social, environmental, and scientific impacts of COVID-19 in the Arctic.
Methods: We conducted a review of the literature followed by a qualitative narrative synthesis following ENTREQ guidelines. Databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE and Google Scholar were screened, and no setting or language restrictions were imposed on the search strategy, although studies were constrained to those after the start of the pandemic (December 27, 2019). Keywords in our search included: "coronavirus", "COVID-19", "pandemic", and "Arctic."
Results/Conclusions
Results: We identified 11 articles that met our inclusion criteria. Of the 11, eight talked about Antarctic wildlife, two talked about personnel and human impacts, and one was a health policy article. Major concerns identified included the zoonotic capacity for Antarctic mammals to transmit SARS-CoV-2, wild birds as reservoirs for the virus, and compromises in climate change advocacy because of frustrated science and activist projects. Its notable effects on ecology are particularly aggravated by a number of fixed variables including the low human population density, low wildlife biodiversity, low pathogen diversity, low levels of connectivity, and extreme cold temperatures. Moreover 8% of zoonoses was identified to have epidemic or pandemic potential, suggesting a high possibility of self-perpetuation of a virus within a species.
Conclusion: Evidence indicates the pandemic has had both widespread and significant effects. As such, it has and continues to hold the potential to wreak havoc not only on Arctic ecosystems but also its thriving industries.
