# Coronavirus Travel - Europe



## Radialhead (Jan 3, 2018)

Nobody knows for certain, but they're still around 20k cases per day so I'd say it's unlikely. And yes, sending younger kids to school is less dangerous than spending a day on the piste, unless they go to the piste with their school rather than with their parents.


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## Yeahti87 (Jan 17, 2019)

The kids mingle during the day with their 20-30 peers in a closed classroom and come back home to share the virus with the family. An excellent transmission route.

On piste you mingle with your several family members/shred buds (being covered head to toe) and you’re back at home (‚worst case’ at the hotel) but still with the same people you travel.

When the resorts were open up to 28.12 (with the sanitary measures like take away only) there was no case spike. We had a big surge, 2 weeks after they sent kids to schools in September and October  The spike ended 2-3 weeks after the schools were closed again (while the pistes were already running).

For the past month, with the lockdown and closed chairlifts, the situation has even been improving, no matter that we are in the third week of the school break and families basically flock to the mountains and let their kids ride sleds with the chairlifts being closed. 
So exactly the opposite - if the kids lodge with their parents (with whom they stay at home anyway) it’s all fine. Lodging with their peers would be dangerous.

Apres ski =\= spending a day on piste

Any Italian locals that have might have some insider info?


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## Radialhead (Jan 3, 2018)

Transmission in schools has only accounted for a minority of cases in any country according to the ECDC. The kids are mixing with their friends during the day & going back home anyway. The only difference with them doing that in school is the stupid parents mingling when they drop them off & collect them. Adults need to be kept apart, & that won't happen when lifts open. I really wish it would, & I wish this would all go away so I can go & visit my parents (who live in Italy). But it won't until either the vaccines are rolled out to enough people to break the chain, or people get it through their heads that the virus hasn't got legs so can't transmit without people's help. But this isn't the political forum, so I'll shut up now.


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

i am afraid that planning vacations at EU’ resorts is not a reliable option this winter, my Tirol reservation is being constantly moved from 7th, to 18th, to 24th and now hosts ate not sure if 24th is on the table, we went to Swiss on christmas, it was quite nice there.


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## BXNoob (Mar 20, 2020)

Yeahti87 said:


> The kids mingle during the day with their 20-30 peers in a closed classroom and come back home to share the virus with the family. An excellent transmission route.
> 
> On piste you mingle with your several family members/shred buds (being covered head to toe) and you’re back at home (‚worst case’ at the hotel) but still with the same people you travel.
> 
> ...


I don’t think it’s only about the risk of transmission. What do you prioritize, education or skiing ? Schools and skiing are both kind of risky and allowing both would multiply the chances of another spike. So they make sacrifices in some departments to be able to give kids a good education even with the situation.
(At least that’s how it works here in Canada !)


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

In our case, in EU i mean, a government must pay to parents, until i am not sure which grade, if schools are closed. As if a parent is on a paid sick leave. Even with the whole bunch of newly printed Euros, not really an affordable option


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## BoardieK (Dec 21, 2015)

You have to realise that Italian schools were closed from March to September and then closed again at the beginning of November. I have no "insider" information but set against that background I'd say that the chances of ski resorts opening are pretty slim.


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

Yeahti87 said:


> Is there any ‚insider’ info if Italy is might be really opening on 18.01? We are shut down at least for the next 2 weeks despite good covid stats/free beds in the hospitals. Sending younger kids to school again is apparently less dangerous for them than spending a day on piste...


If you are from Poland, you are allowed to ski in Swiss. Coronavirus: Quarantine for persons arriving in Switzerland
There are not many people on slopes, mountains are fantastic, arguably the best time to go there is now)


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## Yeahti87 (Jan 17, 2019)

BXNoob said:


> I don’t think it’s only about the risk of transmission. What do you prioritize, education or skiing ? Schools and skiing are both kind of risky and allowing both would multiply the chances of another spike. So they make sacrifices in some departments to be able to give kids a good education even with the situation.


I prioritze an adequate approach to the pandemic situation. More like Sweden if they cared more for isolating the elderly at the begining. We were locked for 8 months last year. Hotels, restaurants, gyms and many other businesses that followed strict sanitary rules while being able to shortly reopen are struggling. Even during a lockdown Austria seems to undertstand that you can use pistes safely.

I did not say I am against sending kids to school, especially the younger ones that do need social interaction while they grow up. I’ve just said that other prolonged and harsh economic restrictions don’t really make sense if we know what to expect shortly.

The government has no money, it’s us that will pay for it and it cannot last that long. And I’m not even a person who directly lost financially (but 99 % of us lose indirectly). The new taxes (you need money, huh?) like a harsh sugar tax have been just implemented (they say it’s to care about our health so we won’t get obese) while sport activities are restricted. Such a joke.

The strict lockdown at the very begining in March had a great support here but we cannot remain closed destroying the economy. Especially that the numbers are actually quite good now. 

Lockdowns should be only temporary. Sanitary measures can be long-lasting.

I’m not telling you how you should react and handle the pandemic in your country. I can only say that here we are very close to a civil disobedience and many smaller businesses have already announced to reopen (with sanitary measures!) against the prolonged irresponsible lockdown. With a very strong support of the people who were all in for the first March lockdown.


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## Yeahti87 (Jan 17, 2019)

garikgarik said:


> If you are from Poland, you are allowed to ski in Swiss. Coronavirus: Quarantine for persons arriving in Switzerland
> There are not many people on slopes, mountains are fantastic, arguably the best time to go there is now)


Yup, waiting for their new update in the upcoming days as well. They lifted the quarantine and PCR restrictions few days after the turds locked us down with good Covid stats 3 weeks ago.


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

Yeahti87 said:


> Yup, waiting for their new update in the upcoming days as well. They lifted the quarantine and PCR restrictions few days after the turds locked us down with good Covid stats 3 weeks ago.


We are kinda on lockdown here in CZ from autumn through Xmass and now, but it did not prohibit anybody from going out of the country, so we just PCRd and quarantined in our family bubble before, during and after the trip. Good thing one can reduce any interactions to an absolute minimum quite easily.


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## Yeahti87 (Jan 17, 2019)

garikgarik said:


> We are kinda on lockdown here in CZ from autumn through Xmass and now, but it did not prohibit anybody from going out of the country, so we just PCRd and quarantined in our family bubble before, during and after the trip. Good thing one can reduce any interactions to an absolute minimum quite easily.


I saw many Czechs and Slovaks here (full coaches) in the mountains when we were still open and you were already locked with your big spike. It doesn’t look like it boosted the stats as these regions still remain the most Covid-free here. After they were the most Covid-stricken earlier last year. Well.


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

Yeahti87 said:


> I saw many Czechs and Slovaks here (full coaches) in the mountains when we were still open and you were already locked with your big spike. It doesn’t look like it boosted the stats there as these regions still remain the most Covid-free here. After they were the most Covid-stricken earlier last year. Well.


It is snowing now in Krokonose, good time for a split day


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## Yeahti87 (Jan 17, 2019)

garikgarik said:


> It is snowing now in Krokonose, good time for a split day


We’re not into splitboarding but let’s say we’ve checked snowmobile rental prices


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## BXNoob (Mar 20, 2020)

Yeahti87 said:


> I prioritze an adequate approach to the pandemic situation. More like Sweden if they cared more for isolating the elderly at the begining. We were locked for 8 months last year. Hotels, restaurants, gyms and many other businesses that followed strict sanitary rules while being able to shortly reopen are struggling. Even during a lockdown Austria seems to undertstand that you can use pistes safely.
> 
> I did not say I am against sending kids to school, especially the younger ones that do need social interaction while they grow up. I’ve just said that other prolonged and harsh economic restrictions don’t really make sense if we know what to expect shortly.
> 
> ...


Fair enough ! 

Im not informed enough about the events in Europe to form an opinion anyways. Its just that a lot of people here are comparing education to « less » important aspects and its frustrating as someone who works in an hospital and has to treat kids and elders with COVID and has to be tested every week so I wanted to comment. 

I really hope it gets better for you guys !


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## snoway (Jan 25, 2017)

In France one of the reasons that the ski lifts haven't opened (the resorts are open) is due to the number of beds in the hospitals that are being taken up by COVID patients. So if the numbers of positive COVID cases doesn't drop then it doesn't seem likely that the lifts will be up and running any time soon. 

My kids are so depressed about not skiing and snowboarding this year (I know there are worse problems in the world) they wait with such anticipation for the season.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Yeahti87 said:


> Yup, waiting for their new update in the upcoming days as well. They lifted the quarantine and PCR restrictions few days after the turds locked us down with good Covid stats 3 weeks ago.


I wouldn't do long term plans for a vacay in Switzerland neither. 

We are getting firmer restrictions by the week as infection numbers are high and hospitals full. Only yesterday, a new shutdown was declared by government. All shops (except grocery, everyday life goods) will be closed from Monday on. Restaurants and bars, spas, gyms where closed already before. You won't get a "ski vacation experience". No après, no shopping, no going to have dinner in town. 

If lifts will still spin in two weeks, nobody knows. I expect more restrictions to come (till we managed to vaccinate the big part of the elderly, - which has only just started in Jan - , and see a reduction in hospital occupation).


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## snoway (Jan 25, 2017)

I am just gutted that for the second year in a row my Japan trip isn't happening 😭


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## Yeahti87 (Jan 17, 2019)

Sad to say that but I’m almost sure you’re done in France this season. Same as Germany. Italy has a conference today but since they were also the ones that were pushing closing the resorts EU wide in October, we don’t expect much. Unfortunately the puppets here mimic these moves regardless what happens here so we are in a lockdown when we ride the wave and we are in a lockdown when we are waiting form another UK or ‚Czech’ mutation wave (though Czechs are surprised we have already found a Czech mutation while they don’t have it themselves there as of yet haha).
Russians have just reported a person with 18 Covid mutations so we go full international soon I suppose. All of this with literally raping the economy, with far worse annual death toll results than Sweden (if these numbers are correct):








Sweden: number of deaths 2022 | Statista


The number of deaths in Sweden in 2020 amounted to over 98,000.




www.statista.com





As for Switzerland, we were watching the live stream yesterday like a World Cup final  
Sweden is too far and Ukraine that also spins the lifts is unfortunately outside of the EU so by default there is a 10 day quarantine when you’re back.

A ‚ski vacation experience’ is good snow conditions and running lifts for us. That’s all. We are not apre people who could be a risk (and these sanitary restrictions make sense) so I’ll visit Switzerland soon again, first time for shredding this time and I’m super stoked to do that.


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

No offense, but Swiss in my case seemed much nicer without “apres and other stuff” ski vacation experience, absolutely compelling the “less is more” case.


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## garikgarik (Dec 15, 2011)

snoway said:


> I am just gutted that for the second year in a row my Japan trip isn't happening 😭


And they are pounded with snow this season


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## htfu (Mar 18, 2015)

you didn't miss much last year as japan had its worst recorded snowfall, in hakuba it was warm and raining most of the time. when the mountains opened a lot of them were bare grass/mud at the base and you had to take a lift or two to get to areas that were usable. to get back down you had to take a lift too, now that was a very weird experience ...


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