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The experts have presented a report of 703 pages: it speaks of errors of judgment in the official management of the crown. The chaos when the tourists left Ischgl shouldn’t have been like this.
The six-person Ischgl Expert Commission, chaired by former Supreme Court Vice President Ronald Rohrer, released its 703-page report Monday afternoon. This is the approach taken by the federal and state governments after the outbreak of the corona pandemic. Conclusion: Certainly there were wrong decisions.
The main criticism of the commission – independent – convened by the governor of the ÖVP, Günther Platter, can be broken down roughly as follows: on the one hand, it was “from an epidemiological point of view” not to close the ski area of Ischgl. On the other hand, the chaos of the exit after the announcement of the quarantine measures for the Paznaun Valley and St. Anton am Arlberg by Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz did not have to be this way. The Tyrolean authorities were not sufficiently prepared for the chancellor’s announcement.
It all started on March 5, when it was learned that Iceland had reported 14 infected people, people who had come from Ischgl. The district administration (BH) Landeck ordered surveys. Two days later, the waiter at the “Kitzloch” restaurant had a positive corona test (it was actually a waiter who pushed his way through the crowd with a whistle and not, as is often rumored, a waiter). According to the commission, the BH reacted quickly and correctly for the moment. They did several tests. But then the wrong conclusions were drawn.
The danger was “clearly recognizable”
On March 9 – with knowledge of several positive cases – it would have been necessary to close the elevators and restaurants by ordinance. In fact, the ski operation was not declared closed until March 12. And this even though the danger was previously “clearly recognizable”. 14 après-ski bars were considered typical places of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Was there any pressure on the authorities from tourism officials? Did the restaurateurs and the cable car company use their influence to postpone a closure? The Commission denies it. They spoke with 53 respondents from different areas, nobody confirmed it.
On March 12, Platter announced that the Tyrolean ski season would end on March 15. According to the Commission, this was correct. In a previous meeting, the regional chief did not allow himself to be softened by business representatives to postpone this moment.
In contrast, the change in the internal distribution of responsibilities within the authorities was unacceptable. Political responsibility has been reduced by delegating regional council tasks to the regional office director. The director of the state office “was overburdened,” but no negative effects on the course of the pandemic could be determined.
“Fake” press information
However, the information in the country’s press, which minimized the risk (“infection by waiters quite unlikely”) was “false and therefore bad”.
The commission also submitted a factual statement to the Innsbruck prosecutor’s office, which focuses on the mayor of Ischgl, Werner Kurz. He belatedly issued an ordinance to end the cable car operations.
The chaos that is often mentioned when tourists left Ischgl shouldn’t have been either. “The triggering moment,” Rohrer said, was Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s press conference. The Tyrolean authorities were not prepared for the announcement of the quarantine measures. The bra should have been better tied. But in this way came the panic reactions of vacationers. The guests should have been told that they could leave in an orderly manner for the weekend. The Chancellor had misjudged the consequences of his announcement, which was probably due to the whole situation.
Rohrer also criticized the Health Ministry. Despite early knowledge of the risk of infection, the latter did not publish the revised pandemic plan.
In response, Platter admitted errors in judgment, but also said that “a lot of things went right.” Political opposition to the black and green Tyrolean state government and the consumer protection association VSV (chairman: Peter Kolba), which represents the rights of the crown victims of the Ischgl region, criticized those responsible.
The health minister Bernhard Tilg (ÖVP), who has been criticized, considers the report of the committee of experts to be “valuable”. It gave those responsible the opportunity to “be better and more efficient in the fight against coronavirus,” explained Tilg. “Criticisms” are taken “seriously” by the crisis team. These would be examined in detail in the next few days, and recommendations were wanted as soon as possible. implement, Tilg announced, calling the report a “robust and factual analysis of the management of the Tyrolean crisis.”
