Corona in Austria: Despite lockdowns, many ski areas are completely overcrowded - the police have to intervene

The ski areas in Austria have been open since Christmas Eve - under strict corona restrictions.

In some winter sports resorts, however, the Covid-19 rules are not or barely observed.

The news ticker on the pandemic in the Alpine republic.

• Austria

  is going

  into a third

  Corona *

  lockdown

  due to the high

  incidence *

  - the

  ski lifts are

  still open.

  The

  mask requirement

  for winter sports causes outrage among the operators.

• In the first

  mass test * there

  were fewer Austrians than expected.

  In Vienna, young people celebrated an illegal corona party until the police came

  (update from December 27, 11:34 a.m.)

  .

• On the weekend around

  Christmas

  , many

  ski areas

  reach their

  corona capacity

  limits

  one day before the new

  lockdown

  (

  update from December 27th, 6.15 p.m.

  ).

• This

  news ticker

  is continuously updated.

Update from December 27th, 6.15 p.m

.:

Crowds

close together.

And that in the middle of the

coronavirus pandemic

.

In

Austria there

will be the

third hard lockdown *

due to

Covid-19

from December 28th

- with the exception of the ski areas between

Vorarlberg

,

Tyrol

, Salzburger Land and Carinthia.

Despite the tense

Corona situation across Europe,

these can

still be open at the end of December.

And the day before the next

lockdown

in the Alpine republic, thousands of winter sports fans obviously took advantage of the excursion weather.

After there had been reports of overcrowded

ski areas

on Christmas Day

, rows of ski lifts reached their

Corona capacity

limits on this Sunday too

.

The

Kronen Zeitung

listed full ski areas in

Austria

on

Sunday afternoon

- but there were also reports about other full ski areas.

An overview of the weekend:

Full ski areas in Austria:	State:
Hinterstoder	Upper Austria
Wurzelalm	Upper Austria
Kasberg	Upper Austria
Schladming	Styria
St. Jakob in the forest	Styria
Semmering	Lower Austria
Mönichkirchen-Mariensee	Lower Austria
Annaberg ski lifts	Lower Austria
Bodental	Carinthia
Zauchensee	Salzburg
Damüls	Vorarlberg

In several ski areas, the police, fire brigade and law enforcement officers had to close the access roads to the

ski areas

, and in some cases long traffic jams formed.

Parking lots were hopelessly overcrowded.

To put it into perspective: During the

corona pandemic,

the ski lift operators are only allowed to allow previously defined contingents of winter sports fans on the slopes.

In

Austria

, many regions in the mountains are economically dependent on winter tourism.

Striking: Foreigners are currently

obliged

to

quarantine

several days

in the Alpine republic, which is why locals in particular are responsible for the current rush between

Christmas

and

New Year's Eve

.

+

December 27th, Grünau im Almtal: The parking lot at the Kasberg ski area is full.

© Wolfgang Spitzbart / APA / dpa

Corona pandemic in Austria: Large crowds in the ski areas between Carinthia and Salzburg

Update from December 27th, 2:51 p.m.:

Even the

ski areas in Austria did not

notice

much

of the stricter rules that have been in force since

Boxing

Day

.

There was a

huge rush

at the weekend

.

In bright sunshine, there were sometimes so great traffic jams that some pulled the emergency brake and

blocked entry

.

The Bodental in

Carinthia

, which offers winter hiking and cross-country skiing, remained closed on Sunday after the rush on Saturday, as did the toboggan meadows in Semmering around 100 kilometers southwest of

Vienna

.

In Damüls in

Vorarlberg,

around 70 kilometers south of Lindau on Lake Constance, too large a

crowd

had to be broken up.

+

Grünau im Almtal: On the weekend around Christmas, many winter sports fans came in good weather - despite the Corona requirements.

© Wolfgang Spitzbart / APA / dpa

Corona in Austria: Illegal Corona party in Vienna was only noticed by chance

Update from December 27, 11:34 a.m.:

Actually, the exit

restrictions

in

Austria

have

been significantly tightened again

since

Boxing

Day

.

You can only leave the apartment for a valid reason.

That couldn't stop a group of young people in Vienna from

having

a

big party with 40 to 50 guests

that

same evening

.

The young people between the ages of 13 and 22 had specially rented a house, as the police reported on Sunday.

Almost two dozen of them were reported, the others had

fled

.

Among the guests was a

19-year-old German

who is now being

prosecuted

for

drug possession

.

The party was blown because a celebrant had injured his head.

Friends took him outside and alerted the

ambulance

a few blocks away

,

but police officers arriving spotted the party.

Actually,

Austrians are

only allowed to leave the house to go to work or to the doctor, for example.

Sports and walks are also allowed.

With the exception of grocery stores, drug stores and pharmacies, all shops will remain closed until January 17th.

With this

third lockdown

,

Chancellor Kurz

wants to

get the pandemic under control again.

Dear @LPDWien

Corona Parties in the middle of Vienna.

Can you really not do anything about it?

It really makes you shake your head.

pic.twitter.com/6mUajytNhO

- Jjjikjijii (@jjjikjijii) December 26, 2020

Corona in Austria: Despite the lockdown, many ski lifts are open

Update from December 26th, 3:40 p.m.:

Despite the new

lockdown

in

Austria

, many ski lifts continue to run in the neighboring country.

"The guests are very disciplined," said the spokeswoman for the

Hochkar

and

Ötscher

ski areas

in Lower Austria,

Karin Munk

, of the APA on Saturday.

"At the moment everything is going according to plan."

The cable cars had to

reduce the

maximum

number of guests

by more than half

,

and tickets must be purchased online in advance.

Only those who have a valid ticket have access to the

ski areas

and parking spaces.

Skiers over the age of 14 must

wear

FFP2 masks

when they are in gondolas or when queuing.

Corona in Austria: The rush at Semmering causes chaos - the mayor threatens to be cordoned off

The situation is different at

Semmering

(Neukirchen district) in Lower Austria.

There, the rush over the

Christmas holidays had

caused

concern

.

According to the APA,

250 barriers were

set up

on Saturday

.

This should ensure that only a

limited number of people come

to the area.

Despite

announcements

and corresponding signs, the

distance

rules

were

not always observed.

In addition, it was

parked wildly

.

“We will control who enters the area.

If that doesn't work, we will

shut off

completely tomorrow,

”said Mayor

Hermann Doppelreiter

(ÖVP)

as quoted

by

oe24.at.

Hardly any distance: Storm on Semmering the day before the lockdown.

The coronavirus quickly became a minor matter in the meantime. Https://t.co/VdC4QjzGSX pic.twitter.com/KxvFX2vsIx

- Kronen Zeitung (@krone_at) December 25, 2020

Corona in Austria: Briefly warns - "The third wave will break in on us"

Update from December 26th, 12:48 p.m.:

The

Corona winter will

not be over that

quickly

, believes Austria's Chancellor

Sebastian Kurz *

(ÖVP).

"The first quarter of 2021 will certainly be an extreme challenge for Europe, the third wave will break in on us, and the number of infections will again increase massively in many European countries," he said in an interview with the ORF broadcaster.

Briefly further:

“After that, I assume that there will be constant relaxation due to the higher temperatures, but also due to the steadily increasing number of those who are vaccinated.

And I expect that we will

be able

to

return

to

normal

in large parts in the summer

. "

He also defended his government's approach in the first wave: “It was right to react decisively early on so that the contagion numbers don't explode in the first place.

This is the best way to

deal

with this

pandemic

. ”

Austria

has been in the third lockdown since Saturday

(see update from December 26th, 10:32 am)

.

Kurz justifies the fact that ski lifts were allowed to open on December 24th with

democratic decision-making processes

.

Many federal states have fought to ensure that outdoor sports should also be possible during the lockdown.

"At the end of the day, of course, political decisions have to be made by a broad group of politicians."

Kurz is firmly convinced that

corona tests will

prevail.

"I believe tests will become an absolute normality like brushing their teeth every day in the coming months, and I think the masses of people will be happy when the tests help us reduce infection."

+

Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP), Federal Chancellor of Austria

© Roland Schlager / APA / dpa 

Corona in Austria: Third lockdown in the country - vaccination doses arrived

Update from December 26th,

10:32 a.m

.:

Just in time for the start of the third

corona lockdown in Austria

this Saturday, the first

vaccination

doses with the agent from

Biontech and Pfizer

arrived in the country

that night

.

The delivery came from Belgium via Germany, as the authorities announced.

The approximately 10,000 cans were brought from the border crossing in Suben in Upper Austria to a warehouse in Vienna under police escort.

The vaccination campaign is to begin on Sunday, initially for over 80-year-old residents of old people's and nursing homes, similar to Germany.

Due to the shutdown *, many

shops will

now be closed until January 17th.

Grocery stores, pharmacies and drug stores, for example, are excluded.

Hairdressers and many other service providers are closed, as are cultural and leisure facilities.

In the past seven days, around 160 cases per 100,000 inhabitants were counted.

In

contrast to the previous months,

the so-called

seven-day incidence is

now below the current values ​​in Germany.

Corona in Austria: 400 ski stations are open - only a few skiers on the way

Update from December 25th:

Much was criticized, but on the opening day itself the expected rush did not materialize.

Despite the

corona pandemic,

around 400

ski stations

in Austria

reopened

on Christmas Eve

- even though the third nationwide corona lockdown will come into force on Saturday, December 26th.

Due to the 10-day quarantine, large numbers of tourists were not expected anyway, but even for the Austrians themselves, the ski start fell into the water, as the saying goes.

In the west of Austria, Christmas was mostly rainy and snowy at higher altitudes.

There were only a few skiers on the slopes, as

reported by the

oe24.at

portal

.

In this way, at least in the winter sports regions, you could keep the necessary safety distance without any problems.

However, further lawsuits follow.

Above all, the mask requirement on and in the gondolas causes a lack of understanding.

Alois Rainer, chairman of the gastronomy department in the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce, has a “massive lack of understanding” about the take-away regulation.

"Who will compensate the hosts for this additional damage?" He said today.

First report from December 23rd:

Vienna - The

ski lifts

are allowed to open from December 24th under strict conditions - but hardly anyone expects tourists in Austria on that day.

They have

to be in

quarantine

for

up to ten days

due to

Corona

.

The start is intended for locals anyway - but without

Ischgl

, which should mean something even to non-winter sports enthusiasts.

And

Saalbach-Hinterglemm

will not be there either.

The reason: the Austria-wide obligation

to wear

an

FFP2 mask

in the gondolas and when queuing

: "At some point it will be enough," said Isabella Dschulnigg, managing director of Saalbacher Bergbahnen, the

Salzburger Nachrichten

.

The FFP2 obligation is

unconstitutional

from the point of view of their industry

.

A cable car cannot guarantee a check of the masks, but the

legal liability

lies with the managing directors.

+

Fun in Ischgl (archive image) - before Corona

© Felix Hörhager / dpa

Ischgl tourism director on Corona in Austria: "We are in the shop window"

In Ischgl, once a

hotspot

for the spread of the corona virus, the problem is the cross-border ski area with Switzerland.

"If you make two turns in Swiss territory, you would have to be in quarantine when you return to Austria," said Ischgl's tourism director Andreas Steibl.

In

Switzerland and Austria,

completely different regulations also

prevailed

when it came to the mandatory protective masks and

catering

.

"We are in the shop window and would rather not start under these conditions." Shall now after in Austria to A start

on January 17

permanent

lockdown

sought

which also includes restaurants and hotels.

Corona mass tests in Austria: Kurz government tries a second run

In the neighboring country of Germany, the incidence value is currently around

200

.

Last Friday, the Austrian Chancellor

Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) announced

a

third hard lockdown

.

The second didn't end until December 7th.

All-day

exit

restrictions

apply again from December 26th to January 24th

.

There should be easing for citizens who take part in the

corona mass tests

planned for mid-January (15-17)

.

Specifically, that means: From December 26th.

Trade and body-friendly service providers are closed again.

Affected employees have the option of short-time work.

This year there will still be a sales replacement, from next year there will be a fixed cost subsidy.

- Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) December 18, 2020

The country has a different timetable than Germany:

Shops

(except pharmacies and drug stores),

museums

and

schools

have to close again - from January

18,

they should then be accessible to those citizens who

can show

a

negative test result

.

Teachers, shop assistants and public transport drivers will be retested

weekly

from this date

.

(dpa / AFP / frs)

* Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital editorial network.

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