Coronavirus coverup: Did Austrian politics and industry collude?

As Austria prepares to ease some lockdown restrictions, the class action lawsuit against authorities in Tyrol is gathering pace. Did officials deliberately keep lucrative ski resorts open despite the outbreak?

[…]Tourists from all over Europe — Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands — had flocked to the mountains to enjoy the slopes and apres-ski. Business was booming,[…]

Details of the alleged coverup are still emerging, but what is certain is that already in January and February, reports of coronavirus cases originating in Tyrol had been appearing in British and other European media. […]

Too little, too late

[…] Along with thousands of other stunned tourists suddenly evicted from their accommodation, the Büchlings fled, driving through the night, back to their home near Frankfurt. Two days later the fever began[…]

“For commercial reasons, people were warned too late, and now we see the consequences. You can imagine what the daily income would be in these resorts, and why operators would say ‘Let’s keep it going for just a couple more days.'”[…]

Industry lobbyists and political ties

Tourism is Tyrol’s major income generator, […]. Kolba points to the close connections between the tourism industry […] and the conservative ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party), which holds the majority, together with the Greens, […]

Investigation likely to go nowhere […]

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Article submitted by, µthos.