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- A commission of Tyrolean experts presented its investigative report on crown management in the Ischgl ski resort in March.
- The commission concludes that mistakes and misjudgments have occurred in dealing with the coronavirus.
- At the Austrian winter holiday resort of Ischgl, several thousand guests were infected with the corona virus in March. They then carried the virus to more than 40 countries.
A little light and a lot of shadow: that is the conclusion of the commission of experts on the Ischgl case. Mistakes had occurred, but there was no widespread failure by authorities and policy, Commission President Ronald Rohrer said in Innsbruck.
The operation of the ski buses and cable cars was stopped at least one day later than necessary. Locally, there was a “breach of duty” because the district authority ordinance was not immediately posted on the local bulletin board.
Review: No evacuation plan
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s announcement of the quarantine over the Paznaun Valley on March 13 should have been better prepared from the perspective of the expert commission. There were panic reactions from the many foreign guests who tried to leave the region at lightning speed.
There was no immediate information to tourists that they should leave during the weekend “staggered and controlled.” Due to the impending quarantine and police checks, vacationers left their hotel rooms, sometimes leaving their luggage.
Also, there was no evacuation plan, Rohrer criticized. A concept should have been developed much earlier, “how to empty these narrow valleys,” Rohrer said.
No delay for profit reasons
However, there is no indication that the tourism and cable car industry has an often rumored influence on the authorities’ decisions. All those questioned had decidedly rejected him. The commission assessed the authorities’ initial reaction after the first Ischgl-related cases became known around March 3 as positive and appropriate.
For the report, the commission interviewed a total of 53 people, including those affected, representatives of the cable car and tourism industry, as well as officials at the district, state and federal levels. The city of 1,600 inhabitants in Tyrol is one of the hotspots for the spread of the coronavirus in some parts of Europe, especially because of the après-ski celebrations there.
Thousands of infections?
Meanwhile, more than 6,000 Tyrol tourists from 45 countries have registered with a consumer protection association that wants to represent the interests of the injured party. Thousands of corona infections in Europe are said to be due to people who went on vacation to Tyrol. The Innsbruck public prosecutor is investigating four suspects for deliberately or negligently endangering people for communicable diseases.
