The first proceedings in connection with corona infections in the Tyrolean ski resort of Ischgl will begin on Friday at the Vienna Regional Court for Civil Law Matters in spring 2020. The widow and son of a 72-year-old former journalist is demanding around 100,000 euros in damages from the Republic of Austria.

According to the plaintiffs, the representatives of the country should be complicit in the death of the man who died of Covid after a stay in Ischgl in March last year.

The lawsuit is supported by the consumer protection association (VSV) of the politically active former member of the National Council, Peter Kolba.

His criticism was directed primarily against the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and the then Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens).

Stephan Löwenstein

Political correspondent based in Vienna.

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Before the negotiations began, Kolba stated that he was expecting a total of 3,000 claims against the Republic of Austria, and that his association also supported class actions under Austrian law.

However, one is open to settlement negotiations.

The Finanzprokuratur, which represents the republic, has so far rejected the claims and demands for settlement payments.

According to the SAAM, the proceedings are scheduled to last eight days until October.

However, it is also possible that the civil proceedings will be suspended after the start until there is clarity about a possible criminal proceedings.

The Innsbruck public prosecutor's office has investigated the mayor of Ischgl and four officials from the state of Tyrol and the Landeck district for the criminal offense of intentional or negligent endangering of people by communicable diseases.

The decision to bring charges ultimately rests with Alma Zadic's (Greens) Ministry of Justice.

For the civil proceedings that have now been opened, it should be relevant whether there is actually criminal misconduct by official bodies.

Should you have reacted more quickly?

Ischgl has got a dubious reputation as a Corona hotspot all over the world, especially in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries, from which many tourists are regular guests of the Tyrolean holiday destination. It has now been genetically proven that more than 10,000 infections all over the world can be traced back to Ischgl. Of course, there have been no comparably dense studies of any other of the countless ski resorts in and outside Austria.

The focus was on Ischgl because a group of 14 Icelandic visitors who fell ill with Covid after their return flight at the end of February 2020 had stayed there. The Icelandic authorities informed the Tyrolean health department about this on March 5th. This in turn pointed to the return flight as an allegedly more likely place of infection. Nevertheless, the next day the employees of the hotel where the Icelanders stayed, as well as staff from a well-known après-ski bar, were tested for the virus. On March 7th, a waiter at this restaurant had a positive corona test result, which was then temporarily blocked and - after a brief exchange of personnel - officially closed on March 9th.Day after day, all relevant bars in the village and the entire ski area were closed and finally the end of the winter sports season in Tyrol was announced.

Critics found that the response should have been faster and more drastic. It was also alleged that tourism representatives had put pressure on the Tyrolean authorities to delay closings. An independent commission of inquiry later concluded that mistakes had been made but political pressure had not been exerted. It was expressly stated that this was not a criminal assessment.

One of the errors named by the commission was that Chancellor Kurz announced an imminent quarantine for the Paznaun Valley at a press conference on March 13, before the state of Tyrol had made appropriate preparations. Then it came to "chaotic" conditions during the departure of tourists, some of whom were crowded together in buses, and others who stayed elsewhere for a day or two to enjoy their week of vacation. This apparently caused the virus to spread. The plaintiff also believes in the civil proceedings that are now being opened that she can trace back her husband's illness and death to an infection on the bus.