Only health-pass holders will be now allowed at French ski stations, starting on Saturday, according to Domaines skiables de France (DSF), which represents operators of 250 French ski stations.
Under a protocol governing access to the stations’ ski lifts, the health pass becomes compulsory in France once the national Coronavirus infection rate exceeds 100 per 100,000 inhabitants. This threshold was crossed late last week, and the rate is now 350 per 100,000, Belga news agency quotes DSF President Alexander Maulin as saying.
“Random, non-permanent checks will be conducted at the foot of the main ski lifts on starting out from the station, so that people know they will be checked,” Mr. Maulin said. “We shall provide very strong communication when they buy their tickets to let them know the pass is compulsory,” he added.
At the Serre-Chevalier station in the southeastern region of Hautes-Alpes, “clients are informed beforehand, so they are not surprised,” David Chabanal, director of the local tourism office, said. “They have been coming prepared, with [their passes] on their smartphones. It’s going very well.”
As elsewhere in Europe, France has been experiencing a sharp rise in new Coronavirus cases, with the government spokesman describing the increase as a “giddy curve.”
Facemasks are compulsory in ski lifts at French space stations, which reopened only recently following two seasons wiped out by the pandemic.
