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Thursday, December 03, 2020
Virus imported from returnees
Briefly, an increasing number are linked to immigration history
A large part of the new infections in the summer in Austria can be traced to people returning from the Balkans. Chancellor Kurz cites the immigration background as one reason. For his less sensitive choice of words, he received criticism from his coalition partner.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has repeated his much-criticized statement that the corona virus was “brought in” by people with a migratory background during the summer through trips abroad. The Alpine republic “imported” a third of the number of infections in the summer through returnees, especially from the Balkans, Kurz told the “Bild” newspaper. “This is simply a fact, it is not the allocation of blame, but simply reality,” Kurz continued.
On Wednesday, the Austrian government announced a ten-day quarantine obligation for all travelers from corona risk areas around Christmas and New Years. This applies to virtually all neighboring countries and especially the Balkans, he said.
Criticism of Kurz’s word choice comes not only from the opposition and on social media. The communication of the travel restrictions was “one-sided and characterized by a lack of sensitivity,” said Greens chief and coalition partner Werner Kogler. The statements would have hurt many people. “And I’m thinking in particular of the many women and men who have been fully engaged with us for many months in nursing homes, hospitals, including intensive care units, and in other important areas,” Kogler said.
Statistics from the Agency for Health and Food Safety (Ages) indicate that there were two weeks of summer in which a third of corona cases can be attributed to returnees from the Balkans. However, the figures say nothing about the nationality of those infected. Due to the government travel advisory for Croatia, many tourists, both Austrians and migrants, returned to the Alpine republic during this period.
