Due to its remoteness and sparse population, Antarctica was the last continent to have confirmed cases of COVID-19 and was one of the last regions of the world affected directly by the pandemic.

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

[12] As of 14 April 2020[update], bases in Antarctica contained only skeleton crews, visitors have been limited, and scientific research has been impacted.

[14] Sources: Ministry of Science and Technology of Chile In April 2020, a cruise ship headed for Antarctica had almost sixty percent of its passengers test positive for COVID-19.

The people developed symptoms for COVID-19 aboard the Sargento Aldea ship, and most of the cases were treated after arriving to their destinations in Punta Arenas and Talcahuano.

[4][18][19][20] On 14 December 2021, a positive case was detected at the Belgian research station Princesse Elisabeth in Queen Maud Land.

[31] On 18 March 2021, the Chilean Air Force announced they inoculated 49 members of their staff in Antarctica, being the first country to start vaccinating against COVID-19 in the continent.