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Berlin (dpa) - With further restrictions, the authorities want to prevent a renewed rush to winter sports locations and snow-covered excursion destinations in Germany at the weekend.
Nevertheless, it is assumed that numerous nature seekers will try again.
State politicians and municipalities again appealed to citizens to refrain from such excursions.
There should be more controls by the police.
In addition to entry bans and closures in ski areas, tobogganing slopes also increasingly came into focus.
The district of Holzminden in Lower Saxony temporarily banned many tobogganing fields.
Violations will be punished with a fine of up to 25,000 euros, as stated in the general decree that will apply from Friday.
In Willingen in the north of Hesse and in Winterberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, not only toboggan runs but also ski slopes are forbidden.
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Last weekend, despite the lockdown and all Corona appeals, crowds of day trippers streamed into snow-covered mountain regions.
Minimum clearances were often not observed in the overcrowded parking lots and on the slopes.
The winter sports resort Oberhof in Thuringia was largely cordoned off on Friday.
The entrances to the city were blocked, the police controlled who was allowed to drive into the center with legitimate reason.
For the time being, there was no rush to the biathlon stronghold at the start of the ski hunter World Cup.
"The request to avoid Oberhof has paid off," said Mayor Thomas Schulz (Free Voters).
Municipalities have issued an entry ban for a growing number of ski areas across Germany.
Numerous access roads are to be closed on the weekend.
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The Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD) also announced increased police controls in winter sports areas.
He advised against excursions.
Especially with a view to the tightening of the lockdown that came into force there on Monday, Lewentz warned against “using the weekend particularly exuberantly”.
Tourism Minister Guido Wolf (CDU) from Baden-Württemberg made a similar statement.
If you head for the well-known excursion destinations, you have to expect to be sent home at the weekend, he said.
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) announced a consistent approach.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the municipalities and the police asked again to refrain from visits.
In Bavaria, too, there was concern that the 15-kilometer restriction on the radius of movement for residents of corona hotspots, which will apply from Monday, could intensify the rush.
"That is certainly to be feared," said Christof Endress, mayor of Blaichach in the Allgäu.
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Although it shouldn't snow much in many places in the coming days, the weather could also attract day trippers: According to the German Weather Service, a partly sunny and cold weekend is expected in many regions.
So the snow should stay there.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210108-99-948299 / 2
German Weather Service