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Ischgl’s mistakes
| Reading time: 4 minutes
The celebrations in Ischgl were so lively in March
The corona virus spread rapidly from the popular Ischgl ski resort in Austria and parts of Europe. Suddenly, Ischgl was seen as the nucleus. A current study now shows: Almost one in two residents here was infected.
Tourists got into the car in ski boots, parked their rented skis in front of the shops and fled – a report by independent experts shows what “gross misjudgments” made Ischgl the distribution center for Corona in Europe in March.
HEurope’s first corona wave likely originated here: the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl became a distribution center for the virus on the continent, also because regional and federal authorities were not well coordinated or reacted too late to the outbreak. This is the result of an independent commission of experts that has investigated the case in recent months.
In early March, 11,000 winter sports enthusiasts and seasonal workers were infected with the corona virus in Ischgl. An après-ski bar called “Kitzloch”, in which an infected waiter distributed the virus, made international news. What we didn’t know at the time: A happy, wet party creates the ideal conditions for the virus to spread.
This is another reason why après-ski is prohibited in the winter season that has already started. The Austrian federal government’s security concept should absolutely prevent an Ischgl 2.0. The country’s reputation continues to deteriorate due to the events in March. Critics criticized a veritable wall formed by the tourism industry, politics and the authorities, which had minimized the risk for days. Unforgivable for a country that generates about 15 percent of its gross domestic product from tourism.
The order of Vienna caused chaos
Also for this reason, in mid-May a commission was created to investigate the case. She viewed 5,798 pages of documents and interviewed 53 people, including those infected, as well as officials from the state, federal government and districts. Its president, Ronald Rohrer, presented the twelve findings of the experts as a chronology of events on Monday.
Interfaces and chains of command with the federal government were not part of his work mandate, although they are considered particularly critical. The quarantine for St. Anton and the Paznaun Valley announced by Vienna on March 13 had triggered a veritable chaos from the start: guests and staff fled the venues and often took the virus home with them.
The commission of experts headed by Ronald Rohrer (center) examined the behavior of the authorities in Ischgl
Source: dpa
This step was apparently decided without consulting the Tyrolean authorities. The chancellor informed Governor Günther Platter (ÖVP) about his plans in the morning. Platter, in turn, pointed out that crisis teams still had a lot of work to do, Rohrer described the events. Sebastian Kurz stated in questioning that he assumed the staff had made the necessary preparations.
Those responsible for the administration of the Landeck district did not make clear to the tourism associations that the departure of foreign guests could have been controlled during the weekend. Exits should have been managed and contact tracing forms had to be delivered. Instead, the police bans were announced at the wrong time. Guests fled – some still got into the car wearing ski boots, rental skis were simply parked in front of shops, and hotel rooms had not been completely cleared, the commission said.
According to experts, it was wrong “from an epidemiological point of view” that the ski was not declared finished until March 12. However, they could not see a large-scale failure of the authorities. There was also no indication that businessmen had pressured authorities to expand ski operations.
The commission found that the authorities often had to cope with a heavy workload under great time pressure in an unprecedented crisis situation. Therefore, he arrived at “serious errors of judgment”. An epidemic law of 1950 and disaster plans with inappropriate scenarios for a pandemic did the rest. No one had a plan for how to evacuate thousands of people from narrow valleys.
The guests trusted the authorities’ announcement
A week before the WHO announced a pandemic outbreak on March 11, authorities learned through the European EWRS alert system that Ischgl’s guests had been infected and who it was. The Landeck district authorities reacted quickly and correctly by conducting extensive testing and following up with contact persons. The “Kitzloch” bar was closed, but reopened after meeting official requirements. No later than March 9, the importance of such bars to the infection process was known and the increasing rate of infection recognized. Those responsible at Landeck justified the “step by step”, critics call it a “delayed” procedure with the principle of adequacy of the epidemic law.
The commission also criticized the unclear structures, reduced political responsibility and that the director of the state office was overloaded with responsibilities. However, he could not determine any negative impact on the epidemic. However, serious communication errors occurred: on March 5 and 8, the public relations department declared that infection of Icelandic guests in Tyrol was unlikely, as was the case with visitors to the “Kitzloch” three days later, and the guests trusted it.
A private consumer protection association has now filed claims for damages against the Republic of Austria on behalf of four people. Those responsible are accused of reacting too late and incorrectly. In total, more than 6,000 Tyrolean tourists from 45 countries reported the association as victims. The Innsbruck public prosecutor’s office is also investigating four people in connection with Ischgl for deliberately or negligently endangering people.
