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“I am 52 years old and I contracted the Corona virus in Ischgl in March.” Martina B, official from Germany
Like every winter, the Frankfurt civil servant Martina B. drives with her two adult daughters and her husband to snowboard in the Tyrol of Paznautal. They arrived on March 8, they had previously checked at the hotel if it was safe to come.
“After we got the feeling and asked that the area be okay, and the hotelier removed our worries, we started our snowboarding vacation in the ski area on Monday,” says Martina B. “That meant nothing, absolutely nothing pointed out what problems already existed in or there in Tyrol. “
Ten thousand guests leave the valley in a hurry and uncoordinated
On March 13, a notorious Friday the 13th, they and around eight to ten thousand guests had to leave the valley in a hurry and completely uncoordinated after the quarantine was imposed on Ischgl and the surrounding ski areas early in the morning. late. They returned to Frankfurt am Main at six in the morning on Saturday after a twelve-hour journey. A short time later, Martina B. showed clear symptoms.
She says her course is called “moderate.” This means that you were in the hospital, but did not receive intensive care. She was isolated for a total of five weeks. She can still feel the consequences of Corona extremely today. “I have completely lost my sense of smell and taste for almost six months. I have suffered lung damage that is irreparable and severely restricts my living conditions and possibly my life expectancy.” And she suffered slight heart damage and even today nerve problems in the brain area, which affect her motor skills and also her brain performance.
Damaged parts were submitted from 45 countries
Martina B. is one of more than 6,000 Ischgl tourists who have followed the call from the Austrian Consumer Protection Association since the end of March to report the damage she suffered as a result of her skiing holiday in Ischgl. Victims were recorded from 45 countries, including 4,000 people from Germany, 500 from the Netherlands, 500 from Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries.
Of these, more than 1,000 people agreed to sue the Republic of Austria and the state of Tyrol, including Martina B. from Frankfurt am Main. He was surprised by the scope of the comments, says Peter Kolba, president of the consumer protection association in Vienna.
Who is responsible? Where are the failures?
“Our repository is 6,000 people who were on the site and describing exactly what was on the site, and then of course their additional experience with the infection, many were in home quarantine, and one to two percent were in the hospital, the intensive care unit, etc. to date we have 32 deaths “. Peter Kolba, President of the Consumer Protection Association in Vienna
Who is responsible for that? Where are the flaws, if any? And with whom? Was it negligence or intent, excessive demands, or disability?
Icelandic authorities warn of European early warning system
On the night of March 4-5, the Icelandic authorities sent their warning via the European Early Warning System to the Ministry of Health in Vienna: Eight returnees from Ischgl had tested positive. At this time, around 11,000 foreign tourists were in the Pazna Valley. On March 7, the bartender “Kitzloch” tested positive.
On March 10, all après-ski bars will be closed and the ski lifts will continue to operate. On the morning of March 13, the Tyrolean governor Günther Platter picked up the phone and informed the club presidents, that is, the leaders of the parliamentary groups, in the Tyrolean state parliament. The leader of the liberal parliamentary group NEOS in Innsbruck, Dominik Oberhofer, remembers the phone call.
Local politician in uncontrolled departure: “How naive one must be”
“On said Friday the 13th, the governor called me personally in the morning and informed me that a quarantine was being declared in the Paznaun valley, especially in Ischgl.” It was just before the press conference, “that is about to reach the mainstream media,” were his words.
Oberhofer remembers very well that he drove home at 3pm on Friday and then heard on the Austrian radio that “there are tons of traffic jams in the Paznaun valley and thousands of tourists are on their way from Ischgl.” They are located. “And the first thing that crossed his mind was:” How naive you have to be, they carry the virus all over Europe.
Indictment with serious accusations against Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
The “official accusation of liability”, hence the official name, against the Austrian federal government and the provincial government of Tyrol, which the head of consumer protection, Kolba, presents to the Vienna regional court, is based on three accusations: first , in the week of March 7 to 13, the necessary closure of the Paznaun valley and at least the warning to tourists were omitted after the coronavirus was detected in Ischgl.
Second: in contrast to the exemplary quarantine of a 5-star hotel in Innsbruck on February 25: an Italian employee tested positive there, the hotel was cordoned off by the police, all guests and employees were examined and only then could it be done new. Unlock the hotel: The Tyrol state government and medical authorities reportedly kept skiing in Ischgl open until March 13, probably for financial reasons.
And finally, thirdly: the federal government, in particular Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, unleashed the chaotic disaster of the departure of foreign guests by abruptly imposing the quarantine in the early afternoon of March 13 and thus negligently contributing. to the spread of the virus.
Pressure from the tourism industry leads to a late response
Consumer advocate Peter Kolba says pressure from the tourism industry meant there was a delay in reaction.
Andreas Steibl, managing director of the Paznaun-Ischgl tourism association for 18 years, is sitting in the meeting room of the municipal administration with Werner Kurz, mayor of Ischgl. He says, “Of course we are sorry if people got infected with us last winter. That is very clear.”
An apology is always appropriate when something is deliberately guilty. But if you have 80 percent regular guests, “then there is direct and totally familiar contact with the guest by the host and I am convinced that no host acted willfully and passed on false information to the guest in any way.”
Victims associate great hope with lawsuits
Martina B., suffering from the consequences of her serious viral illness, has high hopes for the filing of the lawsuit against the Federal Republic of Austria and the State of Tyrol:
“I hope that this lawsuit goes well in the end, so that there is a trial where justice is pronounced. Because, many people are affected. Some are so affected that they have lost loved ones and I just want justice. “Martina B., injured
