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SPORT

Where in Italy will ski resorts reopen from February 15th?

Some of Italy's ski resorts will reopen from next week, but there are still a lot of restrictons in place. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 11 February 2021 08:48 CET
Updated: 11 February 2021 11:48 CET
Where in Italy will ski resorts reopen from February 15th?
At the moment, Italian slopes can only open to professional skiers. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP
Ski resorts in northern Italy's Lombardy region, the epicentre of the start of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, will reopen from February 15th, regional authorities said on Wednesday.
 
Lombardy's decision came after ski slopes got the green light to reopen from the expert panel that advises central government on public health measures.
 
 
From February 15th, ski slopes can reopen in regions designated 'yellow zones' under the nation's tiered system of coronavirus restrictions, according to the government's Technical Scientific Committee (CTS).

It is the first time in the current winter season that skiing will be allowed anywhere in Italy, as slopes across the country have been closed since November under strict coronavirus measures.

In Lombardy, the daily number of skiers will be limited to no more than 30 per cent of the hourly capacity of cable cars and ski-lifts.
 
The region plans to enforce a number of precautions to limit crowding on the slopes, including a cap on ski pass sales.
 
Which other regions will allow skiing to restart from February 15th?
 
Skiing could resume next week in other mountain regions, as long as they remain in the lower virus-risk 'yellow zone' areas.
 
The decision is down to each regional authority.
 
Trentino had hoped to reopen slopes from February 17th. However, it has been declared an orange zone from Sunday, meaning the plan will have to be postponed.
 
 
The health ministry can also change regions' designated zone based on the level of contagion risk.
 
The ministry makes its regional assessments based on data from a weekly monitoring report issued on Fridays. 
 
Under current measures, most of the country is yellow except for Umbria, Sicily, and the autonomous province of Bolzano.

But the regional map doesn't tell the whole story.

Many towns and provinces have now declared 'red zone' restrictions after localised spikes in cases.

That's the case for hotspots in Umbria, Molise, Abruzzo, Tuscany and Campania as well as the entire autonomous province of Bolzano, which are effectively under temporary lockdown despite being surrounded by yellow or orange zones.

Italy is also due to review its ban on non-essential travel between regions, which stays in place until at least February 15th. 
 
Italy is still in the throes of the pandemic, with many health experts cautioning against recent reopenings.
 
In the past 24 hours, nearly 13,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 336 people died from Covid-19.
 
The latest figures brought total infection numbers in Italu to almost 2.67 million, and the overall death toll to 92,338.
 

Member comments

  2. They won’t technically have to ‘lift it’ as it won’t exist anymore. It is due to run out, and will do, unless a new government enacts an extension.

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Published: 27 June 2023 13:27 CEST
Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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