Corona Virus

AdpRo · 13-03-2020 2:46pm

slightybonkers wrote: »

I'm trying to change my ryanair flights online. Won't let me go past the selection of new flights. I have already checked in.
My flights are to Munich, which they have no service to after 31 March 2020.. .
Did you phone them?

No I changed the flights from Munich to Salzburg, done it on-line.

Rew · 13-03-2020 3:03pm

Andorra is now closed for skiing

Rew · 14-03-2020 8:16pm

Looks like France is closing finally

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51892477

donalmoore · 16-03-2020 2:57am

slightybonkers wrote: »

Airbnb should be able to refund some or all of your costs for accommodation...or maybe allow you to rebook for next season. It's worth a try.

We were due to travel to Mayrhofen tomorrow till Monday night but our accommodation has told us we can't come and will refund us fully.
Hoping that our insurance will cover is for flights and transfers.

But if not, it's only money and that can cannot buy health.
Stay safe and healthy and we look forward to next season.

Just got back in from Mayrhofen, stayed at Austria Apartments. Checkef with host re cancellation picy in light of corona. Told us no problem with corons and no cancellation refund. Arrived thursfay to find out resort closing sunday. Due to fly home monday evening. No apology from hotel. Paid 700 to aer lingus for flight home tonight to find germany closing borders. Aer lingus wouldnt respond re chamges. Just glad to be home...

raymo19 · 16-03-2020 8:38am

I tried to cancel holiday early last week. Hotel having none of it as no Corona in Gastein. Anyway decided not to go on Thursday. Info then coming from posters on this thread (Many Thanks AGAIN) on Friday was indicating the all areas in Austria would soon close which they did. The hotel in Bad Gastein contacted us late on Friday telling us not to travel and that they will refund in full (Fair Play). We then rebooked the Ryan Air flights for same time next season. Didn't accept the original rebooking fee of 150 euro for three of us and when we later decided to accept it only to find it was 250. So I suppose we did well in the end considering I thought all was lost last Thursday. Hard lines Donal hope u get something back.

slightybonkers · 16-03-2020 9:27pm

Raymo - I still haven't any joy with Ryanair or my insurance.... I'm going to try again later this week when things start to reduce in their call centre. Fingers crossed.

Donalmoore - glad you are home. We were lucky that on Thurs night I saw the update on Tyrols website and our accommodation also emailed me. I was all set for travel on Friday morning.

Even though I'm out some €€ I'm glad I wasn't over there as I would have been worried for health and also getting from Mayrhofen to Dublin via Germany.

Always next season.

a148pro · 17-03-2020 7:29am

slightybonkers wrote: »

Always next season.

Now isn't really the time to be having this debate but I think there's a legitimate question about the future of skiing over next couple of years. If this becomes a seasonal virus then a winter sport involving large numbers of people travelling to and from one area may not be viable or desireable. A lot depends on the life span of the virus, how it reacts in summer and whether immunity develops / is vaccinated.

I think skiing got a reasonable amount of bad press, albeit buried amongst a tsunami of bad news items. And a lot of people had bad experiences in terms of getting stuck in places. How many skiers had their holiday plans wrecked or interrupted in the last few weeks, had anxieties around it. How many know others who had these experiences and would think twice about booking in the future. What will the travel insurance environment look like in the coming years.

Also how many people actually contracted it in Ski resorts? A lot of fake or presumptive news going around at the moment, is their any reliable report of the Ischgl story and others? I heard figures like over a hundred cases being associated with a given Ski resort but I'd like to see reliable confirmation of that?

I love the mountains, I'm never leaving them but I wonder will a touring trip be more likely over the next few years

raymo19 · 18-03-2020 9:32am

Hi All,
Have a read of article "Alpine breeding Grounds" in Der Spiegel. Seems like "the greed" got to the Austrian Authorities in the Tyrol. I did come across a article last week while I was trying to work out would I travel or not to Gastein valley Austria. The article detailed that Icelandic authorities were saying that nearly 50 percent of cases identified in Iceland were coming directly from Austria and the balance came from Italy. V small percentage was local transmission. This brought some clarity to me. The authorities in Tyrol have alot to answer for.
Raymo.

Billy Mays · 18-03-2020 10:09am

Ischgl seems to be getting the blame

https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=152247

slightybonkers · 18-03-2020 8:21pm

raymo19 wrote: »

The authorities in Tyrol have alot to answer for.
Raymo.

I just read the article. As per above, this may have alot of people re-thinking their ski trips in the future and a lot of changes to the apres scene.

https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/ischgl-austrian-ski-resort-flings-coronavirus-around-europe-a-68e10295-1d9c-42cc-9e52-7fea35436479

Billy Mays · 19-03-2020 10:21am

https://www.politico.eu/article/the-austrian-ski-town-that-spread-coronavirus-across-the-continent/

skallywag · 19-03-2020 4:30pm

Billy Mays wrote: »

https://www.politico.eu/article/the-austrian-ski-town-that-spread-coronavirus-across-the-continent/

I would say that this article is bang on the money.

The valley where Ischgl is located, Paznauntal, has long been famous in Austria for being a law unto themselves and spectacular greed. Sure, all resorts will be guilty of this to some degree, but Ischgl always gets a special mention. The yearly price increases on ski passes, food, etc. is extortionate and miles ahead of the curve re inflation, etc.

Again though, it has become an overall trend though across Austria. Unless you all go very regularly and all have season passes (I did this once, but I found it just limited me too much so did not do it again) then I cannot see how most families can afford a day out with the kids etc. E.g. Two adults, two kids, with lunch, you are looking at 250-300 EUR min.

a148pro · 20-03-2020 1:03am

yeah I remember being on a Ski lift at least 10 years ago in Anton and an austrian guy telling me that skiing had become too expensive for most Austrians

Combined with the age demographic going up and up, because only they can afford it, bit of a mini crisis for skiing. Need to make it cheaper and younger again.

Let's all focus on reducing the carnage here first though

skallywag · 20-03-2020 2:30pm

a148pro wrote: »

Let's all focus on reducing the carnage here first though

Very true.

You can still go out for a walk or a cycle at the moment in Austria which is great. You would normally see the same old faces if you cycle or run regularly on forest paths etc. but the last days they have been getting really busy with newcomers, which I fully understand.

The downside though is that I a am afraid it could keep getting busier, leading to such activity being banned for everyone, which would be a real shame.

Rew · 22-03-2020 11:22am

Tyrol have issued new info yesterday

All people who were in bars and après-ski locations in Mayrhofen and in Gerlos in the Zillertal Valley as well as in Zell am Ziller and Aschau-Kaltenbach from 8 to 15 March should closely observe their state of health. Austrian guests who experience symptoms of the Coronavirus should call the hotline 1450. Guests from other countries should contact their respective health authorities. This advice applies in particular to people who were in the following bars and après-ski locations:

⭢ Mayrhofen: Brück’n Stadl, Scotland Yard Pub, Hotel Strass “Arena Club”, “Steakhouse” restaurant, “Happy End“ café / bar
⭢ Gerlos: “Skihütte” Aprés-ski location, Seppi’s Gerlos
⭢ Zell am Ziller: Zellerstuben, Hili Bar
⭢ Aschau-Kaltenbach: "Marendalm" restaurant

https://www.tyrol.com/information-coronavirus

a148pro · 24-03-2020 12:06am

If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. I've heard anecdotally of a large percentage of initial irish cases being linked to Ski trips. Whether that will ever be officially confirmed in later analysis will be interesting to see.

Also seems from the above and media reporting that it relates to apres as opposed to skiing alone. All those trays of drinks, everyone packed in together.

I've not been too mad on more than an hours apres in recent years. Wellness now, if that's a contamination source I'm ****ed!

Rew · 24-03-2020 10:22am

a148pro wrote: »

If it wasn't so serious it would be funny. I've heard anecdotally of a large percentage of initial irish cases being linked to Ski trips. Whether that will ever be officially confirmed in later analysis will be interesting to see.

Also seems from the above and media reporting that it relates to apres as opposed to skiing alone. All those trays of drinks, everyone packed in together.

I've not been too mad on more than an hours apres in recent years. Wellness now, if that's a contamination source I'm ****ed!

Anecdotally yeah I think so. Norway reckon half its cases came out of Austria. I know 4 guys who got it in St Anton

A bar in Ischgl could be in big trouble
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52007104
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/24/europe/austria-ski-resort-ischgl-coronavirus-intl/index.html

https://www.politico.eu/article/the-austrian-ski-town-that-spread-coronavirus-across-the-continent/

Tacitus Kilgore · 24-03-2020 10:29am

Austria not looking very good in all this, Italy getting all the stick from Irish (&other) people but seems there's plenty evidence it was just as prevalent in Austrian resorts too.

Rew · 24-03-2020 11:38am

Tacitus Kilgore wrote: »

Austria not looking very good in all this, Italy getting all the stick from Irish (&other) people but seems there's plenty evidence it was just as prevalent in Austrian resorts too.

I think for the most part Austria acted ok. They closed the ski resorts when there was still only a few hundred cases in the whole country, Italy were still skiing when there was thousands and whole areas had been locked down near the resorts. France acted as if nothing was going on and then closed the resorts the day people arrived creating huge problems.

The Austrians should def have investigated Ischgl as soon as the likes of Iceland and Norway were putting it on no go lists. It will be a long time before the dust settles and the data is crunched.

skallywag · 24-03-2020 2:44pm

It seems to have been very much so the packed Apres Ski venues which are the main culprits, and if you have been in any of them in Ischgl or Anton you will clearly see why, it's a massive densely packed Petri dish.

I think that most of Austria has acted OK, and certainly much better than the Swiss, who openly admitted some time ago that they had allowed things to get completely out of control early on, with the lack on contact tracing.

There was still some very questionable behavior though. The Austrian government announced on a Friday afternoon that measures were going to be put in place to shut shops, shut the ski resorts, associated hotels, etc. The measures would kick in at the end of the weekend, as you need a certain amount of time to shut things down, and you cannot just flick the off switch instantly without giving people time to react. All resorts in my local valley shut the lifts with immediate effect, well, all bar one, which happens to have the reputation of the greediest amongst them. They allowed the lifts to run until the last second when they were forced to shut, which has really pissed off a lot of people. Needless to say the place was packed with Dutch, Germans, etc. as usual, albeit no Austrians I know ventured out!

Rew · 24-03-2020 5:45pm

From the start of the week to the end in Hinterglemm there was a marked diff (not that I went to any apres bars all week).

Donie75 · 24-03-2020 8:43pm

I was in Mayrhofen/Gerlos/Zell/Kaltenback a month before those dates. Looks like we dodged it, thankfully.
I heard an interview with an Irish person in northern Italy who said that when they closed the schools in the area, everyone went skiing And the kids were out playing on the streets. I’d say that is what caused the explosion of cases there.

a148pro · 25-03-2020 2:37pm

skallywag wrote: »

well, all bar one, which happens to have the reputation of the greediest amongst them. They allowed the lifts to run until the last second when they were forced to shut, which has really pissed off a lot of people.

Mayrhofen?

skallywag · 25-03-2020 6:02pm

a148pro wrote: »

Mayrhofen?

Nope, I am on about the region to the West of Tirol, the resort in question is called Mellau-Damuels.

Just saw the following in the news re Ischgl, someone is going to get in very big trouble ...

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-delay-in-reporting-patient-at-austrian-ski-resort-set-to-be-investigated-11963448

a148pro · 02-04-2020 4:02pm

Updated spiegel article as referred to in today's IT. Good read. Hope the irish mentioned in it are doing ok.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.spiegel.de/international/world/ischgl-austria-a-corona-hotspot-in-the-alps-spread-virus-across-europe-a-32b17b76-14df-4f37-bfcf-39d2ceee92ec-amp

skallywag · 02-04-2020 4:14pm

A lot of chat as you can imagine on the ground in Austria about what is going to happen after all this blows over, and there will be quite a few very nervous people in Ischgl right now.

It is not the time to dwell on it now clearly as we all battle the crapstorm, we will need to wait until we are out the other side of it to see how severe the penalties will be.

Rew · 03-04-2020 11:03am

HSE figures put Austria as the third biggest source of imported Corona cases to ireland (UK was 1 and Italy 2).

skallywag · 03-04-2020 11:27am

I would certainly believe it, it turns the stomach to think of the sheer volume of people who will have spread it from there.

There is a lot of debate going on currently too concerning when exactly it first appeared, with a heavy suspicion that it was there quite earlier than most think. A local chap I know was in Ischgl towards the end of January and got quite sick when he came back with the classic symptoms, i.e. high fever and a very dry cough, which he described as a very weird feeling compared to any other flu he had previously had. There was no real chatter at that time about a problem in Europe though, at that stage it was more or less confined to China, or so we thought. He is pretty convinced he could have had it, and would love to do a reliable antibody type test to verify it.

the beer revolu · 03-04-2020 2:00pm

I dodged a bullet there too - was in Mayorhofen 8 - 15 February.!
And we were in two of the bars mentioned:eek:

a148pro · 03-04-2020 2:57pm

skallywag wrote: »

There is a lot of debate going on currently too concerning when exactly it first appeared, with a heavy suspicion that it was there quite earlier than most think. A local chap I know was in Ischgl towards the end of January and got quite sick when he came back with the classic symptoms, i.e. high fever and a very dry cough, which he described as a very weird feeling compared to any other flu he had previously had. There was no real chatter at that time about a problem in Europe though, at that stage it was more or less confined to China, or so we thought. He is pretty convinced he could have had it, and would love to do a reliable antibody type test to verify it.

I think I read something similar on snowheads and was it mid january there was the uk's first case confirmed out of ischgl?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coronavirus-patient-zero-symptoms-austria-ski-resort-daren-bland-ischgl-a9427811.html

I kind of hope it is true - if it's been in circulation more widely than expected it probably gives us a sooner light at the end of the tunnel, assuming you can't pick it up again. Herd immunity looks like the only viable way out of this quickly?

Corona Virus

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