Coronavirus quarantine measures lifted early at Austrian ski resorts blamed for thousands of cases

‘It is no longer justifiable to keep these areas isolated,’ provincial government says

Police at a roadblock stop cars from driving into and out of St Anton following the imposition of a quarantine (Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images)

Coronavirus quarantine measures have been lifted early at an Austrian ski resort town believed to have acted as an early hotspot for the virus from which thousands of international cases have stemmed.

Ischgl, a resort town near the junction of Switzerland and Italy, previously dubbed by some as “the Ibiza of the Alps” has since become known as something of a byword for mishandling the outbreak.

Along with the surrounding resorts of St Anton am Arlberg, Sölden and the Paznaun valley, it has been sealed off since the middle of March, after crowded apres-ski bars provided a breeding ground for Covid-19 likely throughout much of February.

By the time the first person in Ischgl tested positive on 7 March, hundreds of foreign tourists from across Europe had been infected and returned home.

While countries with infected returning citizens warned Austria there may be an outbreak on 1 March, the towns were not placed under quarantine until 13 March.

The provincial Tyrol government — which has acknowledged mistakes were made — conceded in early April that after a testing offensive it had “no choice” but to extend the quarantines by a further fortnight until 26 April, with nearly one in five Ischgl tests coming back positive.

But in a statement on Tuesday reported by the BBC, authorities announced the area’s unique restrictions — which confined residents to their homes — would be lifted three days early, saying there had only been 10 new positive tests in the previous 12 days.

“For that reason, after consulting with the medical experts, it is no longer justifiable to keep these areas isolated beyond the federal [lockdown] regime,” Tyrol’s government said.

They will now be subject to the same lockdown rules as the rest of Austria, which is gradually easing restrictions.

Outwith Tyrol, Austria has fared relatively well during the crisis.

It has reported 491 deaths so far — fewer than many larger countries suffer daily — and claims to have flattened the curve, with confirmed infections rising by less than 2 per cent a day.

It began to ease lockdown restrictions last week, allowing small shops to open. All shops are expected to reopen by the beginning of May, with restaurants to follow roughly a fortnight later.

However, there is mounting discontent among thousands of citizens, both at home and abroad, who suspect they contracted the virus in Ischgl and its surrounding resorts.

Some 5,000 people are now believed to have added their names to a possible class action lawsuit accusing authorities of prioritising profit over safety.

Led by Peter Kolba of Austrian consumer protection watchdog, the VSV, the potential lawsuit alleges officials’ lack of action constituted an abuse of authority, creating a public danger, and spreading a reported illness.

A description of the facts has been sent to the public prosecutor’s office in Vienna, which, according to the BBC, now has more than 3,400 signatories from Germany, nearly 400 from the Netherlands, and at least 120 from the UK.

This number has grown from a reported 2,500 signatories at the start of April.

Following the submission of the VSV’s report, the Tyrol Criminal Police Office has been commissioned by the public prosecutor’s office to undertake ”investigations on suspicion of negligent endangerment of people by communicable diseases”, part of which concern the allegation that a catering company covered up a worker’s positive coronavirus test in February.

The office of Tyrol governor Günther Platter told CNN that “it will be important afterwards to put all measures worldwide — and also in Tyrol — to the test to see where mistakes have been made and, on the other hand, which structures need to be changed’’.​

Additional reporting by Reuters