Some of the people suffering from Covid-19 are said to have been infected with the corona virus in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl. The authorities reacted far too late.
- Some of the people suffering from Covid-19 are said to have been infected with the coronavirus in Ischgl
- The authorities in Tyrol reacted much too late
- Tirol is now considered a dangerous risk area due to the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus
Ischgl - It wasn't the gardener, nor the postman. No, a bartender is said to have transmitted the coronavirus * in Ischgl, the Austrian ski mecca, to other people. According to "focus.de", Ischgl vacationers tested positive for the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 * in numerous countries. In Denmark alone there are said to be over 100, in Hamburg 80. Ischgl has thus developed into Europe's secret corona breeding ground. The Austrian authorities took quarantine measures far too late.
Coronavirus in Ischgl: Some people get Covid-19 in Tyrol - authorities react too late
At the end of February, more precisely on the 29th of the month, a Boeing 757 from Munich landed in Iceland. When the Icelandic authorities tested passengers for the Coronavirus *, it was clear: some of them had Covid-19 - most of them came from Ischgl. While Iceland reacted immediately and declared the ski area in Tyrol a risk area, the Austrian authorities initially did nothing.
Instead, the ski operation continued. It was only a week after the Icelandic tour group returned that Ischgl reported the first official Corona case. The patient is a 36-year-old German, bartender in the "Kitzloch", a popular bar directly at a valley station. How he infected himself is not known. At the time, the state of Tyrol's Facebook page only said: "For all visitors who were in the bar during the said period and who have NO symptoms, no further medical clarification is necessary." But things turned out differently.
Some of the people suffering from Covid-19 are said to have been infected with the corona virus in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl.
© Felix Hörhager / dpa
Bars in Ischgl closed due to Coronavirus (Covid-19) - "Après-ski a virus thrower"
Other people fell ill around the bartender. The après-ski bars in Ischgl were only closed on March 10th. On March 14th, Austria's Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober and Minister of the Interior Karl Nehammer called on everyone who has been in said areas since February 28th to "go into self-isolation at home".
The German Robert Koch Institute declared Tirol a risk area the day before. The lift operation in Ischgl only stopped on Monday, March 16. The weekend before, numerous people were on the slopes. The Tyrolean virologist Robert Zangerle had warned of the Austrian "Standard" days before: "Après-ski is a virus sling." After all, many people stand together in a very small space.
"Greed has defeated responsibility": Ischgl becomes a coronavirus breeding ground
A warning that apparently did not reach the Austrian authorities. The "Standard" wrote: "Greed has defeated the responsibility for the health of citizens and guests." They wanted to take the last "strong tourist week" with them. On the Tyrolean side, it is said that contagions in Tyrol are "unlikely from a medical point of view". Instead, the Austrians only got infected on the plane with a sick returnee to Italy.
Ad Ischgl: "From a medical point of view, a transmission of the coronavirus to bar guests is unlikely" (8.3.)
(Document found on the facebook page of the restaurant in question which is surprisingly not offline) pic.twitter.com/SWTiODiZ0w
Tirol vehemently rejects media criticism regarding the use of the corona virus in Ischgl. "We always took steps exactly at the point in time when secure information was available," emphasized a spokesman for the Tyrolean state government. Even more: only through the initiative of the authorities was it possible to identify the bar as a possible location for the corona virus.
Is the coronavirus breeding ground (Covid-19) in Europe? Tyrol defends itself
The Tyrolean Minister of Health Bernhard Tilg said in a statement on Monday (March 16th) that all employees of the hotel in question had also been tested immediately after the positive tests of the Icelandic guests were made known. None of them had Covid-19. After the positive test of the 36-year-old bartender from Germany, the bar was closed immediately - a little later all other ski bars.
Some of the people suffering from Covid-19 are said to have been infected with the corona virus in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl.
© Jakob Gruber / dpa
On March 13, the winter season ended prematurely and Ischgl and the entire Paznaun valley were declared a restricted zone. Now, a few days later, Tyrol is one of the largest corona risk areas. It all started from a bartender - and authorities, who apparently reacted too late.
with dpa
* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
List of rubric lists: © Felix Hörhager / dpa