Germany Extends Strict Lockdown Measures With Eye Towards Reopening Ski Slopes

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Germany extended its coronavirus lockdown measures through mid-December, after cases continued to surge in the country.

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Austrian ski resort Ischgl became a coronavirus hot spot earlier this year after several tourists brought the virus back to 45 countries.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

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Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Austrian ski resort Ischgl became a coronavirus hot spot earlier this year after several tourists brought the virus back to 45 countries.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Ski slopes in Germany and other European nations have postponed their start dates indefinitely due to current lockdowns.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte agree that a European Union-coordinated approach to reopening the slopes is a necessity.

«If Italy decided to shut down all its ski lifts without any support from France, Austria and the other countries, then Italian tourists would risk going abroad and taking the contagion back home, Conte said.

Ski resorts have been proven to pose a serious health risk during the pandemic.

The Austrian ski resort of Ischgl earlier this year became a coronavirus hotspot with infected tourists going on to spread the virus to 45 countries.

However, Austria — where the skiing industry employs some 700,000 people — is not on board with the plan to coordinate resort openings. Finance Minister Gernot Blümel and Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger said that if a ski ban is place on the whole region, it would need two billion euros or more of aid from the EU.