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WHO slaloms through European ski slopes spat
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Skiers are seen behind a banner showing Swiss border above the ski resort of Zermatt in the Swiss Alps on November 28, 2020. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)
T
he World Health Organization said each country would have to weigh up the coronavirus risks involved in opening their ski slopes, as Europe bickers over a common approach.
The WHO said there was no inherent COVID-19 risk in skiing itself but in travelling to resorts, gathering on buses and ski lifts -- not to mention the apres-ski party culture.
European nations with winter resorts are squabbling over the rights and wrongs of having a ski season in the middle of a pandemic.
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the UN health agency was not getting involved in whether Europe's ski season should be scrapped.
However, he spelled out the dangers.
"Many people won't be infected while barreling down the slopes on their skis," Ryan told a virtual press conference.
"The real issues are going to come at airports, on buses taking people to and from ski resorts, ski lifts and pinch points in the skiing experience where people come together in large numbers... not to mention the apres-ski that so many people seem to enjoy."
Germany and Italy have been pushing for Europe to ban ski holidays; Paris has said the French can to visit the country's resorts, as long as they don't ski; Austria has warned that an EU-wide ban would be "disastrous" for its tourism-reliant economy; while the Swiss have opened their slopes.
Read also: WHO says 'will do everything' to find COVID-19 origins
Flocking to the slopes
Beyond the ski nations, Ryan said there were risks involved for the countries from which winter holidaymakers flock to the slopes and then fly home.
"It's not just the places in which skiing occurred, it's the risk that's exchanged between locations, based on the movement of people," he said.
"We don't hold a position on whether something should be cancelled or not cancelled, because the circumstances change in each and every jurisdiction.
"We would advise that all countries look at their ski season... and look very, very carefully at the end-to-end risks."
The WHO's COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said the organization advised a risk-based approach.
"There are ways in which different activities can be held safely but right now, there is no zero risk," she said.
"Skiing is no different... If the virus is circulating in an area and if people are in close contact in that area, the virus can spread -- it's as simple as that."
Looking ahead to the northern hemisphere winter holidays, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned: "We all need to consider whose life we might be gambling with in the decisions we make."
