World News | Court rules Austria not responsible for early COVID infections in ski resorts

BERLIN, June 1 (AP) Austria’s federal court said Thursday that the state is not responsible for an outbreak of COVID-19 infections in alpine ski resorts as the pandemic hit Europe in early 2020.

The Supreme Court announced the verdict in a long-running court case involving a German resident who traveled to Ischgl on March 7, 2020, and visited several après-ski venues before returning home six days later. Not long after, he developed his first coronavirus symptoms.

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The plaintiffs seek damages and find that the Austrian federal government is liable for injuries caused directly or indirectly by the authorities’ errors or lapses in late February 2020 and early March 2020 related to the “mismanagement” of COVID-19 in Tyrol.

The outbreak in the popular western Austrian resort of Ischgl is believed to be one of the first incidents of a pandemic “superspreader” in Europe.

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An independent commission concluded in late 2020 that Tyrolean authorities were too slow to close ski resorts after it became clear they were dealing with one of Europe’s first coronavirus outbreaks. But the panel found no evidence that political or business pressure played a role in the decision.

The Federal Court found that the local authority had provided incorrect information in a statement dated 5 March 2020 suggesting that an Icelandic passenger who had flown from Munich to Reykjavik and then tested positive was on the plane and not in Tyrol Er is infected. Indeed, the court said in its May 15 judgment that authorities had already had indications that at least one man was showing symptoms before being flown home.

However, it said incorrect information could only be grounds for liability if it created a “base of trust” that would lead people to make poor decisions. This was not the case, as the statement in question was ambiguous and in the subjunctive, stating that the assessment was based on preliminary information and that further clarification was ongoing, the court found.

It also upheld the lower court’s ruling that the authorities’ obligations under the anti-epidemic law “are designed exclusively to protect the public”.

Peter Korba, legal director of the Austrian Consumer Protection Association, said the verdict was “deeply disappointing” to people from 45 countries, some of whom he said had “suffered serious damage from the errors of the Tyrolean authorities”.

He said in a statement that the association would carefully review the court’s decision and consider further action for damages against the Austrian government. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)