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LATEST: Spain announces opening of ski resorts

After a delay to the start of the ski season, resorts across Spain’s mountain areas have now announced when they are opening.

Published: 11 December 2020 16:25 CET
LATEST: Spain announces opening of ski resorts
File photo shows the Pradollano's ski runs in the Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Spain. AFP

The upmarket resort of Baqueira Beret in the Catalan Pyrenees was due to open on Friday 11but delayed the inaugural weekend because of Covid restrictions.

Instead it will open its pistes on Monday December 14th, the same day as other resorts in the Catalonia region where there are reportedly great snow conditions after several weeks of cold temperatures and precipitation.

The Sierra Nevada slopes are usually open by the end of November and are popular over the December puente but this year the it was delayed and they will now open on Friday December 18th.

Across Spain’s resorts special measures are in place to reduce the risks of coronavirus infections. These include reduced capacity on lifts and in restaurants and bars at resorts as well as the need for advice appointments when hiring winter equipment at ski hire centres to reduce crowding.

The opening of the Sierra Nevada for skiing coincides with the loosening of restrictions designed to bring Covid-19 infections under control although restrictions on movement between regions will still be in place over Christmas.

Other resorts such as those run by Aramon in the Pyrenees, including Formigal, have not yet set a date for opening.

But as the rules currently stand skiing is not on a list of justified reasons to cross regional borders during the period over Christmas when Spain has limited movement.

When it comes to opening ski resorts around Europe countries are not on the same wavelength, with France, Germany and Italy keeping resorts closed over the Christmas period. Read more about it here.

For the latest on Spain's resorts opening and snow levels check out Infonieve.

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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