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Corona hotspot Ischgl: Thousands of people infected by après-ski - experts find serious mistakes and chaos

2020-10-12T12:51:52.336Z


In Ischgl, Austria, thousands of holidaymakers are said to have been infected with Corona in the spring. Now a commission of experts has presented its report and found serious errors in crisis management.


In Ischgl, Austria, thousands of holidaymakers are said to have been infected with Corona in the spring.

Now a commission of experts has presented its report and found serious errors in crisis management.

Update from October 12, 2020, 2:14 p.m.: It has been

seven months since the Austrian

ski resort Ischgl

suddenly

hit

the headlines

as a

Corona hotspot

due to its

après-ski parties

.

An expert commission has now presented its report on possible

errors in Corona crisis management

in Ischgl.

According to the investigators,

serious mistakes

have been made in the ski resort

.

Commission chairman Ronald Rohrer said on Monday in Innsbruck

that the operation of the ski buses and cable cars was

stopped a day later than necessary

.

Corona outbreak in Ischgl - allegations against quarantine measures by Chancellor Kurz

Errors also happened

when the

quarantine was announced

over the Paznaun Valley.

According to the experts, this order, announced by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on March 13, should have been better prepared.

There were

panic reactions

from the many foreign guests who tried to leave the region at

lightning speed

.

The result: an

uncontrolled departure of

numerous people who would have prevented a meaningful epidemological control.

There was also a

lack

of

immediate information to the tourists

that they should leave over the weekend “staggered and controlled”.

In addition, there was

no evacuation plan

, criticized Rohrer.

On the

other hand, there are

no indications

that

the tourism and cable car industry has

an often-discussed

influence

on the decisions of the authorities

.

Corona crisis management in Ischgl - the investigators rate this as positive

The

commission rated the initial reaction of the authorities after the first cases related to Ischgl became known around March 3rd

as

positive and appropriate

.

Corona hotspot Ischgl - Commission presents report on crisis management

First report from October 12, 2020, 1..07 p.m.

- Innsbruck - The Austrian ski resort Ischgl contributed

to the spread of the coronavirus * in Germany and parts of Europe

with its

après-ski parties

.

Since then, the controversial crisis management has repeatedly attracted criticism.

But what mistakes can those responsible for the Tyrolean ski resort actually be made?

The

report of

an independent commission of

experts is

eagerly awaited

on Monday 

.

A total of 53 people were interviewed for the report, including those affected, representatives of the cable car and tourism industries, as well as those responsible at district, state and federal level.

Tyrol is currently one of the corona risk areas classified by the Robert Koch Institute.

Corona hotspot Ischgl: Did those responsible know about the danger earlier?

From the point of view of the critics, the measures such as the

closure of bars

, the ski area and finally the quarantine over the entire Paznaun Valley on March 13th came too late.

The latest research by ORF and the news magazine “Profil” indicated that those responsible

knew of the danger

earlier than previously known

.

The state of Tyrol has

always vehemently rejected

these

claims

.

The Mayor of Ischgl, Werner Kurz, emphasized in an interview with the newspaper “Kurier” (Saturday) that the community had “implemented everything to the best of its knowledge and belief” that the authorities had specified.

Numerous corona infections after après-ski in the "Kitzloch"

In Ischgl on March 7th, a bartender in the "Kitzloch" tested positive.

The next day it became known that 14 sick Icelanders were guests in the “Kitzloch” and three other people who tested positive in Tyrol had stayed in Ischgl.

The bar was officially closed on March 9th.

The next day,

all après-ski bars in town were closed

.

In addition, the end of the ski season was decreed.

On March 13, the valley, which was home to around 8,000 holidaymakers, was quarantined.

Even before the authorities checked the departure of foreign tourists, many guests left the affected towns.

A study by the Medical University of Innsbruck made the

extent of the

spread of the virus in Ischgl

clear.

According to this,

42.2 percent of the Ischgl population had antibodies *

, a worldwide peak.

Consumer protection association represents thousands of infected people - public prosecutor determined

More than 6,000 Tyrol holidaymakers from 45 countries have registered with a consumer protection association that wants to represent the interests of the injured party.

Thousands of corona infections in Europe

are said to be due to people who went on vacation in Tyrol.

The

Innsbruck public prosecutor is

also investigating four suspects for deliberate or negligent endangering of people from communicable diseases.

The commission of experts was not given the task of conducting criminal investigations or

deciding

on

claims

for

damages

from injured parties.


Austria is currently fighting, like many other countries around the world, against increasing numbers of new infections.

The government is said to already have a so-called "shutdown light" in the drawer in order to avoid a loss of control as a result of a second corona wave *.

(va) *

Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-10-12

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