Ski resorts There is now a commotion in the ski resorts, which is also reflected in the corona infections in Lapland

High season and the closure of indoor hobbies has led people to engage in outdoor sports. It is also visible in the ski resorts. Both in the large mountain resorts of Lapland and in the ski resorts of more southern Finland, there is now a large crowd on the move.

“The situation is good. The outfit is for the normal year model. Foreigners have also returned. We have a lot of Britons and Central Europeans in the fell at the moment, ”says the CEO Jouni Palosaari Levi Ski Resort.

“There are currently five thousand people skiing in the fell. That’s not the top yetfor in the best of days we will go a long way.

There are many more tourists in the Levi area, as only a small proportion of foreigners visit the slopes.

Also further south, the Kuopio Tahko and Lahti Messilä ski resorts have been busy in the intervening days. Tahko will have more crowds, especially on Thursday, as it is the busiest arrival day for New Year’s holidaymakers.

“90 percent of our own cottage capacity is full. It reflects pretty much the situation in the whole region. We are pretty much in the same figures as last year, ”says the CEO Teo Kuosmanen From Tahko Central Reserve Office.

According to Kuosmanen, customers are currently receiving inquiries about interest rate restrictions. Restrictions on the distribution area also apply in the Tahko area in Northern Savonia. For example, restaurants must stop drinking at 5 p.m.

“Customers feel that the cottage is safe and also as an outdoor activity for downhill skiing. People are in a lot of traffic and stay in their own accommodation units,” says Kuosmanen.

“Our role as a central booking office is to inform customers how to operate. We strive to inform you how you can vacation as easily and safely as possible. ”

Rich the number of customers is displayed at the ski resorts as long lift queues. According to Jouni Palosaari, it is a good sign and message that people follow safety instructions.

Ski resorts instruct you to keep safety intervals in the lift queues. The elevator instructs you to travel only with people in the same party or otherwise wear a mask. This means, for example, that a six-person chairlift usually carries fewer people to the top than the elevator can accommodate.

“Elevators don’t pull in the same model as normal when you go with your own party. Even now, there are two people, three people, two, two, two in that six-person chairlift, ”Palosaari counts the passengers in Levi.

“People follow the guideline, and that causes queuing.”

Palosaaren according to Levi must always wear a mask indoors. This year, coron passports will also be asked at the entrances to Levi’s service buildings, and customers will be given a mask if they don’t already have one. The number of entrants is limited.

Now, 13 ticket machines have also been purchased for outdoor use, from which tickets can be redeemed or purchased without visiting the indoor area.

“We have invested a lot of time and also euros in making this as safe as possible,” says Palosaari.

“Employee groups have also been placed in different blocks. We have ski service, rental shop, ski school, ticket sales, restaurant, office staff. For example, their employees eat in different places and at different times, minimizing interaction. There is no exchange of staff between the different locations. This is how we ensure the continuity of operations. ”

Lively tourist time in Lapland is also reflected in a clear increase in coronavirus infections. Last week, there were 362 coronary infections in the Lapland Hospital District. In just over three days this week, 363 cases of corona have already been detected.

“Domestic tourism is so active that it is reflected in cases of disease. It can be said that there are now about twice as many cases as before. Infections are concentrated in young adults and middle-aged people, ”says the Lapland Hospital District Infection Chief Markku Broas.

Now a larger part of the infections is detected in people who have come to Lapland from elsewhere. About a week before Christmas, non-residents accounted for just over 20 per cent of infections and locals for just over 70 per cent.

Now less than half of the infections are detected in locals and less than half in locals. Foreign tourists account for about six percent of corona cases.

Infections however, the increase in the number has not yet been reflected in the workload of hospital care in the Lapland region.

“Now that we’re going at twice the pace of previous weeks, it’s important to see how this is reflected in the hospital load within two to three weeks,” Broas says.

In Lapland, only a small proportion of positive corona samples are analyzed for virus: all foreign and random domestic samples.

“Actually, all the samples whose results have been completed recently have been omicron transformations, but they [analysoituja näytteitä] there are few pieces, ”says Broas.

According to him, the fact that there are a lot of infections would suggest that the micron transformation is now moving in Lapland.

On Friday, the corona group of the Lapland Hospital District will meet to assess the rapidly changing corona situation in the area and decide on possible new restrictions.