Across Europe, Omicron is causing chaos in terms of contamination. A record was notably broken in Belgium this week and it might still reach new heights in the days to come. Less virulent but much more contagious, the variant poses a huge problem in ski resorts which are heavily used at this time of year.
This is particularly the case for Austria (9,761 new cases confirmed on Wednesday, double in one day) and Switzerland (14,000 infections per day). This sharp rise in contamination raises a general problem: there is a shortage of catering staff. Indeed, many employees have had to leave their jobs following being infected with the virus. With the increasing quarantines, many hotels and restaurants have had to close their doors.
“After the Christmas period, almost all of our staff tested positive for the coronavirus”, explains Dimi Kefalas from the Swiss city of Sankt Moritz (Graubünden) to the microphones of VTM. This restaurateur was therefore obliged to close his establishment. He is not the only one. In Davos, even the luxurious Grandhotel Belvédère has been closed indefinitely. Also in Switzerland, on the side of Zermatt and Verbier, the reduction of staff also pushed the managers to have to take drastic measures.
Avoid contamination
Those who absolutely want to stay open must avoid contamination. Certain hotels and restaurants are in particular reserved exclusively for customers of establishments. People from outside are no longer welcomed there in order to prevent travelers from sending the virus back to each other. Another questioning measure: the restaurants have decided to … limit the menus on their menu. Enough to prevent people from coming in too large numbers.
According to Christian Harisch, hotelier of the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbühel, the castle of card is regarding to fall: “If we don’t act now there will be lockdown anyway. The system is on the verge of collapse anyway.”, he explains to our colleagues. “Several hotels have already had to close due to infections among the personl, “he said.
To get by, the different establishments “lend” themselves healthy employees to ensure quality service. A complicated system to set up and which is not viable in the long term.
Austrian governments are meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation.
