WHO urges countries to consider ‘very’ carefully whether they allow ski resorts to open at Christmas

A mountaineer stands on the Zugspitze summit near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Germany's highest ski resort, it is closed until at least December 20

Credit: Shutterstock

The World Health Organisation on Monday told countries to consider “very, very carefully” whether ski resorts should be allowed to open over Christmas, amid fears that large gatherings would lead to a surge in coronavirus infections.

“We would ask that all countries look at the ski season and other reasons for mass gatherings and look very, very carefully at the associated risks,” said Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergency expert.

The problem was not so much having skiers on the slopes, where they are out in the fresh air, but the airports, trains and buses which transport them to the mountains, as well as queues at ski lifts and apres ski gatherings in bars and restaurants, he said.

The governments of Italy, France and Germany have said allowing skiing this winter would stoke the spread of Covid-19, but that has put them at odds with Switzerland and Austria, which have indicated that they want their resorts to open up.

Amid calls for EU unity, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said that letting the ski season get underway would undermine anti-virus measures.

Italy’s northern regions put forward a proposal that would allow the partial opening of ski resorts at Christmas and New Year.

The Zugspitze ski resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany is closed due to coronavirus restrictions 

Credit: Shutterstock

The regions suggested that the pistes be opened to people who have holiday homes in ski resorts and those who stay for at least one night in a hotel or chalet.

That would exclude large numbers of day-trippers, reducing the danger of overcrowding and the spread of the coronavirus, they said.

The suggestion was put forward by the regions of Veneto, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta, Lombardy, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Sud Tirol, where most of Italy’s ski resorts are located. 

“The solution that we are proposing would allow a gradual opening up of the winter season,” regional authorities said in a letter to the coalition government in Rome.

“We would be able to apply health protocols and put them to the test. The government needs to listen to us and allow us to open under these criteria.”

Ski resorts say they face financial ruin if they are not allowed to open at Christmas, New Year and beyond.

But the government has indicated that it is against such an opening, fearing that queues at lifts, skiers squeezed into cable cars and gatherings in restaurants and bars could spark a third wave of infections.

The government is due to issue a new decree of anti-Covid 19 measures this week.

Many of the current restrictions, including the closure of secondary schools and a nationwide 10pm-6am curfew, are likely to remain in place.

Italy continues to deal with tens of thousands of new Covid-19 cases each day, as well as hundreds of deaths. On Monday, Italy registered 672 more deaths and more than 16,000 new cases.

“We need to give breathing space to the health system,” said Pierpaolo Sileri, the deputy health minister. “There are still too many intensive care units and hospital wards that are full.”