German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Germany wants European countries in the alpine region to close ski resorts to fight the spread of coronavirus.
Many Germans contracted coronavirus at ski resorts when the epidemic began Reuters, And last month Germany issued travel warnings for ski territories in Austria, Italy and Switzerland.
The chancellor told parliament that Ria Stria could resist such a call, but that Germany would try to continue the sanctions on an immediate basis.
“Ski season is approaching. We will try to coordinate in Europe whether we can close all ski resorts, “Merkel said, according to Reuters.
Austria is currently under a national lockdown that is due to take place on December 7.
Reuters notes that the country has been sensitive to coronavirus regulations that have become commonplace in most of Europe.
Merkel’s concerns follow those of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who earlier this week warned people against skiing this holiday season, as Italy fights another figure in the coronavirus case.
Both Germany and Italy recently went into the second phase of the national lockdown.
If the European Union (EU) forces the ski sector to close, it could lose 2 billion euros, according to Austrian Finance Minister Garnot Blumal. Blumell argued that the EU should pay for this financial loss.
Reuters notes that Switzerland, which is not part of the EU, has allowed ski slopes to operate as per normal standards in most parts.
Germany announced on Wednesday that its current coronavirus lockdown would be extended and tightened until December 20, to ease the rules surrounding Christmas for family reunions.
So far 980,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Germany and more than 15,000 people have died. Germany, like most countries in Europe and the U.S., has seen a sharp rise in post-collapse cases.
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