RTA in a COVID-19 Environment

This review was commissioned by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) to address the physiological and psychological risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to Antarctic expeditioners returning to Australia (RTA). We reviewed the literature with a focus on the immunological and psychological impacts of deployment to Antarctica, the return journey and the reintegration process. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID19 pandemic, is a respiratory pathogen that requires an effective and appropriate immune response. Expeditioners RTA are at heightened risk of adverse health effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection due to the well-documented immunosuppressive effects of spending extended periods in the Antarctic environment. In addition, due to the impact of intolerance of uncertainty, threats to the health of family and friends, changes to societal functioning and delayed RTA, Antarctic expeditioners are at an increased risk of adverse psychological outcomes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, we developed a series of recommendations to mitigate against these heightened physiological and psychological RTA risks.