Some 2,500 tourists, 80% of which are German, have prepared a lawsuit against Austrian authorities over their handling of a coronavirus outbreak in the country’s winter sports resort of Ischgl.
They have accused the authorities for reacting too late to the first signs of the outbreak. Ischgl is already being investigated by public prosecutors in Innsbruck, Tyrol’s capital, after hundreds of infected patients were traced back to the resort.
Earlier, the Austrian Consumer Protection Association filed a complaint against the Tyrolean governor Günther Platter, the mayor, cable car companies and othes. It also launched a Europe-wide appeal to possible victims who believe they were infected with the virus while vacationing in Tyrol.
”The global coronavirus pandemic qualifies as force majeure and nobody can be held responsible for any damage suffered. However, keeping ski resorts open, even though authorities knew or should have known of a threat of mass infection, is certainly a reason to consider claims for damages”, the association said.
Platter’s office said in a statement that the authorities took “the necessary immediate measures” after the first person tested positive.
There have been more than 10,000 infections in Austria, with 2,358 in Tyrol, and there have been 128 deaths, the health ministry said.
