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Austria's Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has repeated his much-criticized statement that the coronavirus was "brought in" by people with a migration background through trips abroad.

The Alpine republic had "imported" a third of the number of infections in the summer through people returning from their travels, especially from the Balkans, said Kurz on Thursday at "Bild live".

"That is simply a fact, it is not the assignment of blame, but simply the reality," said Kurz.

On Wednesday, the Austrian government announced a ten-day quarantine for all travelers from corona risk areas around Christmas and New Year.

This applies to practically all neighboring countries and especially to the Balkans, it said.

Criticism of Kurz's choice of words came 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 boss and coalition partner Werner Kogler.

The statements would have hurt many people.

"And I am thinking in particular of the many women and men who have been fully committed to us for many months in nursing homes, hospitals - including intensive care units - and in other important areas," says Kogler.

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Statistics from the Agency for Health and Food Safety (Ages) indicate that there were two summer weeks in which a third of the corona cases can be attributed to returnees from the Balkans.

However, the numbers would say nothing about the nationality of the infected.

Due to the government's travel warning for Croatia, many holidaymakers, both Austrians and migrants, returned to the Alpine republic during this period.

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