Italian ski resort operators are looking forward to the opening of business for the first time since the beginning of winter on the 15th, but their hope is disappointed again.
Concerned about the spread of variant coronavirus, the Italian government announced on the 14th that the ski resort would remain closed until March 5.
The Italian government was originally scheduled to allow ski resorts to open from the 15th, but Minister of Health Roberto Speranza signed a decree on the 14th to prohibit ski resorts from opening until March 5.
Italy has postponed the opening hours of ski resorts several times due to epidemic prevention needs.
In a statement on the 14th, the Italian Ministry of Health said that 17.8% of the recent confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Italy were infected with the variant novel coronavirus that was first discovered in the United Kingdom.
Fearing about the spread of the variant novel coronavirus, France and Germany have adopted similar epidemic prevention restrictions on the ski industry.
Skiing and surrounding services are an important source of income for Italy’s winter tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the epidemic.
Flavio Rhoda, president of the Italian Winter Sports Federation, criticized the government for abruptly extending the closure of ski resorts, saying that ski operators have invested a lot of money in opening, preparing ski lanes, hiring personnel, and coordinating hotels.” A lot of money has been invested, and we have suffered a lot again.”
The new government led by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi promised to compensate ski resort operators for their economic losses as soon as possible.
Italy has more than 93,000 coronavirus deaths so far, making it the second largest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe, after the United Kingdom.
The Italian Ministry of Health reported on the 14th that Italy has added 11,000 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours.
The Italian Ministry of Health issued a decree on the 13th, requiring all passengers entering Italy from Austria to be nucleic acid tested and self-isolated.
Austria, a northern Italian neighbor, has reported variant COVID-19 in South Africa first.
