Governments of skiing countries need to think very carefully about opening up the slopes—however, the World Health Organization WHO does not provide concrete recommendations.
Skiers crowding pose a risk of further spreading the coronavirus. Some countries have already indicated that they will keep the slopes closed because of the pandemic.
“We would ask all countries to look at the ski season and other reasons for people to flock together, and to consider the associated risks very, very carefully,” said WHO top expert Mike Ryan.
The Swiss and Austrian governments want to open the ski areas under strict corona conditions. Italy has announced that it intends to keep the slopes closed. In France, the ski resorts should be allowed to open during the Christmas holidays, but without ski lifts. It may then be possible to cross-ski.
The German government would prefer to see the ski slopes in the Alpine countries closed. Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to see whether European coordination is possible, but thinks it will be difficult.
At the beginning of March, it turned out that the Austrian winter sports resort Ischgl loved by the Dutch was also a corona fire. In October, an independent committee of experts concluded that governments were piling error after error.
The authorities in the Tyrolean town were overburdened and closed the ski areas too late. Besides, the Austrian government had the tourists expelled far too quickly, allowing the coronavirus to spread to other countries.