It can be a really slippery slope.
German police are committed to keeping ski aficionados away from the slopes of a popular winter spot that should be closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to reports.
Authorities said thousands of daytrippers had flocked to the Winterberg resort near Duesseldorf in the past few days, despite police attempts to close access roads to keep them out, The Telegraph said in a report.
“Yesterday, there were again repeated violations of coronavirus restrictions and the requirement to wear masks,” police spokesman Sebastian Held told the media.
“This led the city to prohibit people from entering some of the ski slopes,” he said.
But despite 176 violations for not wearing masks, 94 violations of social distance restrictions and two criminal charges in recent days, the police seem unable to prevent the avalanche of visitors on the slopes.
Footage posted by Reuters shows the futility of police officers as they try to drive many people off the Winterberg trails – including families with children.
The small village scenes show a traffic jam obstructing local roads.
“Unfortunately, we saw again today that the announced ban on access to the ski slopes has not prevented many people from coming here anyway,” Held told the news service.
“That’s why we had to close the access roads here in consultation with the city, said Held. “This means that we have systematically closed the main access routes that lead to Winterberg to prevent the ski slopes from filling up again.”
Winterberg’s trails, however, are made up of thousands of square kilometers of slopes, he noted.
Wired Poles