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The German federal government intends to act to ensure that ski resorts remain closed across Europe. This was announced in the Bundestag by Chancellor Angela Merkel, underlining however how some, like Austria, seem determined not to join this process. Merkel’s announcement was met with reactions and comments in the courtroom.
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Four weeks ago, the government decided on new pandemic measures. “We can see that this has allowed us to stop a dramatic exponential growth,” explained the foreign minister, who spoke of a “first success” in the fight against the Coronavirus, linked to the fact that the health system has been protected from collapse. However, he added, a change of course is not yet evident.
All the European countries that host renowned mountain resorts these days are wondering whether to open the ski lifts and consider plans to try to save the season, at least during the holidays. France has announced a decision in the next ten days because there are still many uncertainties. In the last hours, Palazzo Matignon has consulted the main entities of the sector to take stock not only of outdoor sports activities but also of post-ski leisure in mountain resorts that could be the harbinger of exchanges and therefore contagions . The French government is studying various scenarios, from the “definition of a specific health protocol” to the provision of financial compensation to companies and workers in the sector in the event of the station closing.
In any case, France’s decision will also take into account those of neighboring countries. And here the story gets complicated. Because each nation against the second wave has taken different measures, with different times. Switzerland, for example, which at this stage has decided not to impose a blockade, has kept its ski resorts always open and does not intend to close them in the high season. At the end of October, photos of the Verbier slopes crowded with skiers were circulating. Of course, with the rate of infection increasing, the Swiss authorities do not want to take chances.
For this reason, ski resort managers must present a safety plan to the cantonal authorities, who must ensure that it is respected. Among the measures, the distance of 1.5 meters, the obligation of a mask in the elevators and the careful sanitation of the cable cars and other structures for the ascent and the windows that are always open. In Austria, whose popular Ischgl ski resort was the scene of the first major European Covid outbreak, a massive screening aims to revive the economy, schools and even skiing at the end of the lockdown on December 5.
