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Ischgl was the secret virus hub in Europe (Important Info)t

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I'm still planning on doing the paznaun valley this season. Stay in Galtur then, ski Galtur, Ischgl, Kappl, See.
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esaw1 wrote:
Ischgl could be the place to go next season. They won't want to get it wrong twice and to quote a line from The World According To Garp;"It's been pre-disastered".

Doesn't visitors normally outnumber locals by a fairly large margin?
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It has been confirmed that four individuals are under investigation in relation to the events in Ischgl in March, though from what detail has been given it seems more for issues to do with traffic regulations than any issues to do with the virus specifically, we shall have to wait and see

From TT.com (rubbish Google translate!)

In the case of the Corona crisis management in Ischgl , the Innsbruck public prosecutor has initiated an investigation against four people . That was officially confirmed on Wednesday.

The consistently conducted investigations have become more concrete after examination of the processes documented in over 10,000 pages of evidence. In particular, the implementation of ordinances relating to traffic restrictions in Ischgl and the quarantine in the Paznaun Valley are being examined more closely. For the time being, four people are listed as accused,
inform Hansjörg Mayr, spokesman for the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office. Information on who the accused are, will not be given, Mayr said. Specifically, it concerns the willful or negligent endangerment of people from communicable diseases.

As early as the end of August, the TT reported that investigations had been initiated against the Landeck district captain Markus Maaß and two other employees of the district administration as well as Ischgl's mayor Werner Kurz. The public prosecutor's office did not officially confirm the investigation against specific people at the time.

In particular, the implementation of ordinances relating to traffic restrictions in Ischgl , the sudden departure of hundreds of holiday guests, and the quarantine in the Paznaun Valley are being examined more closely. According to Mayr, there are different versions of when the ordinances came into force, how they were announced and how they were dealt with.
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abc wrote:
esaw1 wrote:
Ischgl could be the place to go next season. They won't want to get it wrong twice and to quote a line from The World According To Garp;"It's been pre-disastered".

Doesn't visitors normally outnumber locals by a fairly large margin?


Are you asking specifically about Ischgl, or about every ski resort in the world...?
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@Mjit, it's not true of many Austrian ski towns, in fact a ban on new hotels and second home ownership in some areas is hoping to address imbalances between resident and tourist populations.
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Quote:

Ischgl could be the place to go next season. They won't want to get it wrong twice and to quote a line from The World According To Garp;"It's been pre-disastered".

As also believed by Baldrich

http://youtube.com/v/y8wdynZ0iWg
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This story made the front page of the New York Times today, and that's saying something.
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Mjit wrote:
abc wrote:
esaw1 wrote:
Ischgl could be the place to go next season. They won't want to get it wrong twice and to quote a line from The World According To Garp;"It's been pre-disastered".

Doesn't visitors normally outnumber locals by a fairly large margin?


Are you asking specifically about Ischgl, or about every ski resort in the world...?

So what's the advantage of visiting a place where the minority locals having herd immunity?
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* Assuming previous infection gives you any significant mid-long term immunity to re-infection.
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Even assuming that, what's the advantage again?
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The idea would be a greater percentage of the population in the town would have already have had Covid, so be immune and so unable to transmit the virus, reducing the number of people who could have/transmit the virus and so the chance of encountering someone who has/could give you the virus.

But that requires not only a previous infection to make a person immune for becoming re-infected (possible but as yet unproven) but also preventing them transmitting the virus (less likely - if a barman breaths in a dose of Covid-laiden air their immune system may be able to fight off any viral cells that settle in their lungs but when they turn to you as the next customer and say "What can I get you?" they will be firing a dose of Covid-laiden air your way, for you to breath in so you can say "Beer, please").
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But if the majority of the people in town are visitors, your chance of getting it from them is still unchanged! rolling eyes
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Folks

Alcohol Ban in outdoor Publics Spaces (All Car Parks , Streets etc) .. To be implemented this season.

Ischgl is following on from its Ski Boot Ban after 19:00-06:00 hrs (implemented 2016 ) on the streets

This of course has been prompted by CV19 and its Full Speed Desire (New direction) to reinvent the Ski Area..

https://www.krone.at/2245885
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You know it makes sense.
Reading between the lines of the Google translated version of the article it comes across as more "We want to stop day trippers bringing their own alcohol and drinking it for free, and force them to buy it from our bars, because, umm, noise, and umm, Covid." than anything else.
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It's strange that Snowbombing are still taking bookings for next year.
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The official report into what happened in Ischgl is due to be published at 13:00 (12:00 UK) today. Details on tt.com.

Background https://liveblog.tt.com/414/coronavirus/82508/livestream-ab-13-uhr-expertenkommission-prasentiert-ischgl-bericht-in-innsbruck

(usual rubbish Google translate)

Expert commission presents Ischgl report in Innsbruck
The interest is enormous. The 35 national and international media representatives have for today at 13:00 , scheduled the expert report to Ischgl crisis management presentation logged in Innsbruck House of Music, Commission Chairman Ronald Rohrer confirmed.

▶ ️ The report should reveal where and who errors were made in containing the coronavirus in the Paznaun Valley .

▶ ️ In the morning, Rohrer will hand it over to Governor Günther Platter (VP) . In the afternoon the information to the opposition follows. Formally, the commission is a child of the black-green state government. Because used by her. The decisive factor was, of course, a majority decision in the state parliament. And that, in turn, was preceded by immense public pressure.

Too much had happened around the Corona hotspot Ischgl in the spring of obvious and alleged errors and omissions for Tyrol to have avoided an external investigation. It has been proven that more than ten thousand corona infections can be traced back to Ischgl and its surroundings.

▶ ️ When the state parliament will deal with the Ischgl report has not yet been officially clarified. Unofficially, the ÖVP, Greens, FPÖ and NEOS have long agreed to deal with the state parliament on Friday and thus the last day of this week's regular October meeting. All day - with an open end. Much also depends on how the state government will deal with "its" report.

▶ ️ The government meets on Tuesday. There is speculation that an urgent motion to the state parliament could already be drafted there. Whether only in general or with consequences already derived from the report - that should depend on the clarity of the report result.

▶ ️ For List Fritz and FPÖ , however, it is already clear in advance that Platter will "not be able to hide" . He is not only responsible as the highest crisis manager, but also in the interests of the indirect federal administration.

To focus on District Captain Markus Maaß or Health Councilor Bernhard Tilg is "too cheap" , as List Fritz club chairwoman Andrea Haselwanter-Schneider thinks. Platter is also exclusively responsible for crisis communication, says FP boss Markus Abwerzger:


There is clearly a political element here and it might (though I doubt it but we will find out soon) mean a resignation or two. I am sure that the report wont satisfy those whose insist there was a conspiracy to keep the bars open and infect the whole population of Europe.....
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The report has now been published here: https://www.tirol.gv.at/presse/webinar-land-tirol/julius-test/

There is a summary here: https://www.tt.com/artikel/30757010/expertenkommission-praesentierte-ischgl-bericht-die-kurzfassung-im-wortlaut

The main criticism appears to be over the outdated epidemic laws (1950) which have not been updated in line with modern life, and over the poor communication and handling of the evacuation of tourists.
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A summary of the report findings in English is available here https://www.tirol.gv.at/fileadmin/presse/downloads/Presse/Pressemappe_englisch.pdf

Key paragraphs as follows

The WHO was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China
on 31/12/2019. On 7/01, the Chinese authorities identified a novel coronavirus, which
was subsequently referred to as the “Covid-19 virus”. The finding that the virus is
transmitted from person to person became known on 20/01. On 11/03, the WHO
declared the outbreak of a pandemic. This was about a week after the district
administrative authorities in Landeck had learned of the infection of Icelandic guests.
According to scientific analysis of genome data, the viruses found in infected guests
from Ischgl matched the mutation profile of the viral strains of cases in a French ski
resort, to which a guest from Singapore, who had been in contact with a Chinese
person from Wuhan, had travelled in late January 2020.

Leaders and staff of the authorities of the state of Tyrol dealt with a huge workload in
this unprecedented crisis both at state level and at district level, often under great time
pressure. One district then saw some serious misjudgements. All decisions of the
leaders of the relevant district administrative authorities and their respective
chronology were, like the approach of the state governor, made on their own initiative
and without pressure from a third party. All actions were based on the assumption of
proceeding in line with the appropriate procedure set out in the Epidemics Act 1950.
The leaders of the Landeck district administrative authority initially reacted promptly to
the infection of the Icelandic guests who had returned from Ischgl, of which they were
informed on 5/03 and 6/03, with broad-based testing and contact tracing.

From 8/03, a correct assessment of the course of infection would have led to
proceeding with the closure of the “Kitzloch” après-ski bar in Ischgl and to end the
operation of the cable cars and ski buses, order the closure of all après-ski bars and
prohibit gatherings of people over the course of 9/03. The watchful waiting with the
order to end ski operations by 12/03 was incorrect from an epidemiological perspective.

The state governor’s announcement of the end of the ski season across all Tyrol from
the weekend of 14 and 15/03 at the 13/03 press conference was, in respect to the ski
resorts outside of the Ischgl and St. Anton a. A., correct and appropriate.

The state information provided on 5/03 and 8/03 that characterised contagion in Tyrol
as unlikely was incorrect. This was taken seriously by tourist enterprises and guests
as it was official information.

The announcement of the imposition of the quarantine in Paznauntal and St. Anton a.
A. by the Austrian Chancellor came as a surprise and without due regard to the
necessary substantial preparations. There was a lack of communication and inclusion
of the solely-responsible Landeck district administrative authority.
Controlled departure management should have been planned and implemented from
the point when the risk of infection was recognisable. The unclear announcement
made by the Chancellor should have prompted the leaders of the Landeck district
administrative authority to immediately provide information via the tourist offices that
the departure of foreign guests can and must be done in a staggered and controlled
way rather than immediately.


From what I can see the report suggests that it was a mistake to allow the Kitzloch to reopen on the 09/03 and at that there was a case that Ischgl resort operations should have been shut down at that point (there is no suggestion that this was anything other than a mistake not negligence though no doubt some will argue the case). There is some criticism of the local health officials for the statement on or around 07/03 that further infections were "unlikely" which was wrong. It also states that there is no evidence at all of pressure from resort or ski lift owners to keep the resorts open. There is considerable criticism of the Federal government for the chaos that ensued on the afternoon of Friday 13.03 in both the Paznauntal and St Anton after the decision to shut down all ski operations, this was done badly and the suggestion is the blame lies in Vienna not Innsbruck or Landeck. Note also that the finding is that the initial infection was from the (British I seem to recall) people who came from a conference in Singapore and then were identified with the virus at a ski chalet somewhere in the Savoie.
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This is quite telling:
Quote:
While Kurz announced the quarantine of the Paznaun valley and St. Anton in a press conference, he later stated in the interview that he assumed that the staff had already made the necessary preparations.


And in Landeck:
Quote:
Bruno Hersche cannot confirm that the crisis management in the district and in the state was overstretched. Scenarios beyond mudslides or avalanches are not included in this report, however.


Basically, the district had no guidance for managing a pandemic that could be applied to a ski resort in 2020.
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The main report (in German) has two sets of chronologies that are likely to be of interest to folk here

https://www.tirol.gv.at/fileadmin/presse/downloads/Presse/Bericht_der_Unabhaengigen_Expertenkommission.pdf

Page 232 onwards has details of what happened when not just in Ischgl but also in St Anton / Pettneu - two things I noticed were that there was a case found in Pettneu on 05.03 (this had been a rumour along with that the person went out drinking despite testing positive which could just be rumour) and also a member of bar staff working in an "umbrella" bar in St Anton tested positive on 12.03

Page 274 onwards has a more general chronology of what happened with regard to European wide ski resorts
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/12/failures-at-austrian-ski-resort-helped-speed-up-spread-of-covid-19-in-europe
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But does it really make a difference, at the end of the day, how it started and whose "fault" individual cases were?
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There is no suggestion of fault with regard to the initial cases it is simply reporting that the strain of the virus in Ischgl appears to be the same as the Savoy case which itself appears to have been related to a conference in Singapore. The biggest criticism appears to be around bureaucratic chaos with outdated emergency plans and uncoordinated responses by the various authorities. Given what happened elsewhere perhaps the Austrian's did better than many though certainly a good number of things could have been handled better. The events on the afternoon of the 13th in the Paznauntal and St Anton led to much unnecessary panic and confusion. There have been various comments here about how no information was fed back to the UK after individuals filled in forms, it appears that was the case not just with the UK but with all countries, the forms were simply not passed on. There is also a suggestion (though police enquiries are continuing so no conclusion in the report) that the mayor of Ischgl delayed closing the lifts etc when he had information that should have led to their closure at least 24 hours earlier.
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The Guardian's report suggests that the resort is being castigated for shutting apres ski venues on 10 March when they could have done so on 9 March. Given the indecision by many governments at that time, that wasn't too bad. And with issues being traced to one particular bar, it doesn't seem unreasonable that it wasn't for another 2 days that they decided to extend their closures to ski lifts.

If the quote from @munich_irish was the source, it sounds like a blame game to avoid responsibility falling on the national government.

Interesting, even if Ischgl related infections were an issue for Iceland, the genetic data previously quoted on this forum suggests that Austria was a very minor contributor to import of Covid (if I recall correctly, Spain was the highest, followed by Italy and France).
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pam w wrote:
But does it really make a difference, at the end of the day, how it started and whose "fault" individual cases were?


where there's blame there's a claim
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j b wrote:
The Guardian's report suggests that the resort is being castigated for shutting apres ski venues on 10 March when they could have done so on 9 March.


Just imagine if they had closed them on the 9th - none of the Covid pandemic across Europe would have happened, because as we now know at low infection levels it only spreads in bars after 10pm, and at higher ones only in places selling alcohol and not ones selling food and soft drinks...
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@j b, it is not the guardian's report but the report of Ronald Rohrer chair of the Tirolean regional governments experts' commission.
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Very brief summary on BBC website...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54523014
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Apparently the Kitzloch is planning on reopening at the end of November, (not sure that any bars will be able to open at that point) presumably all the staff will be having regular Corona tests and I guess games of beer pong will not comply with the "hygiene concept" Very Happy

Article needs a registration https://www.tt.com/artikel/17458387/das-kitzloch-oeffnet-wieder-zusperren-war-kein-thema
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Niki's Stadl has confirmed that it won't open this season.
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munich_irish wrote:
Apparently the Kitzloch is planning on reopening at the end of November...and I guess games of beer pong will not comply with the "hygiene concept"


That bit will be easy. Beer pong in the Kitzloch was already completely hygenic - as is anything else that's never actually happened and was just made up by a newspaper journalist to sensationalise a story.
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@Mjit, the beer pong story was (re)told by Jan Pravsgaard Christensen*, a professor of immunology of infectious diseases, at the University of Copenhagen, as one explanation as to how the virus managed to spread so fast in Ischgl. I have heard the same story from a number of sources. Do you have proof that it is not true?

*"We realized that they exchanged saliva because they were playing beer pong," using their mouths, he said, although he did not single out any specific bars where the game took place. The game involved spitting ping pong balls out of their mouths into beer glasses, and those balls were then reused by other people.
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I can't say its never happened obviously but I visit Ischgl and the Kitzloch a lot and I've never seen it played.
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Interesting that the early cases were related to Singapore, considering the large number of passengers from Singapore we transported between GVA and the Chamonix valley during the early stages of the pandemic.
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@Mjit, that was a (weak) attempt at a joke on my part, as far as I know "beer pong" is an urban myth. Maybe some very drunk folk have attempted to "play" it on the odd occasion but it is not a regular activity at any bar. There would be a number of drunken activities that would be perfect for spreading the virus around but that is not confined to Ischgl or any other ski resort.

@RobinS, it does seem clear that the virus spread from Asia to Europe in the early part of the year (maybe even last year). I guess it is perfectly possible that some of your passengers were carrying it, not that it makes any difference now.
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Steilhang wrote:
@Mjit, the beer pong story was (re)told by Jan Pravsgaard Christensen*, a professor of immunology of infectious diseases, at the University of Copenhagen, as one explanation as to how the virus managed to spread so fast in Ischgl. I have heard the same story from a number of sources. Do you have proof that it is not true?

*"We realized that they exchanged saliva because they were playing beer pong," using their mouths, he said, although he did not single out any specific bars where the game took place. The game involved spitting ping pong balls out of their mouths into beer glasses, and those balls were then reused by other people.


Not the famous Pravasgaard Christensen, the scallywag, who's almost as famous for spending every season in Austria, mostly in the resourt of Ischgl, always spending his apres evenings in the Kitzloch, as he is for his work in the field of immunology of infectious diseases!!!

Oh, you mean the OTHER Pravasgaard Christensen who is equally well known as an expert in the field of immunology of infectious diseases, but isn't known to have ever viaited Austria, let alone Ischgl during the ski season, let alone the Kitzloch apres ski bar/restaurant...

I can only work off of personal experience, made up of over 10 weeks going to Ischgl and spending every other afternoon in the Kitzlosh, both in and out of peak season. In peak season there's no way anyone COULD play beer pong - the game would be throw ball/miss/ball on floor/ball stood on, flat and never seen again. Out of season, well I've played a number of drinking games with the bar staff but nobody has ever so much as suggested beer pong.

Now maybe it has happened...but I'd say the odds are in favour of the journo. who wrote the original "beer pong" piece having never been to Ischgl, let alone the Kitzloch and just went .oO(What would sensationalise this story and fire up a media storm...I know let's just say they were playing beer pong with their mouths)Oo.

All I can say is I'd back myself in a quiz against say journo. in a quiz where the questions were things like "What brand of pear schnapps do they serve in the Kitzloch?", "What year did Arno stop drinking (and look 10 years younger the following season!)?", "Which village does DJ Boris live in during the season?", "Is it worrying when you're skiing in Boris' village and HE recognises YOU on the hill?" (Yes) and "Can you book DJ Boris as a wedding DJ, if the wedding's out of season?" (Also yes).


Oh and for the "he didn't single out any specific bar" I can't think of a single bat in Ischgl that is poo-poo-enough to have the space/inclination for people to play beer pong in a peak season week.

I AM aware of 3 clubs in Ischgl where I'm sure a German or Russian gentleman which sufficient funds could, umm, exchange fluids but have never frequented them myself (my friends reported back that the G&Ts were so expensive they just drank their drinks and left).
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munich_irish wrote:
@Mjit, that was a (weak) attempt at a joke on my part, as far as I know "beer pong" is an urban myth.

And I apologise if I seemed to miss the joke (I thought you posted tongue in cheek) but the source is some lazy journalism, which always pokes my..umm, opposite of funny bone..colon?

munich_irish wrote:
Maybe some very drunk folk have attempted to "play" it on the odd occasion but it is not a regular activity at any bar. There would be a number of drunken activities that would be perfect for spreading the virus around but that is not confined to Ischgl or any other ski resort.


Yep. There's driving the bus through the kitchens, hugging the polar bear, rowing the little rubber boat, and thats just in the apres bars! I'm sure many things happen "above the Burger King"... I've only heard transfer bus stories (oddly of friends paying the staff to give THEM lap dances, making plans to burn credit card bills, and going from looking at death's door to quite happy...when someone else came down from their room looking like the back of death's door and like they could vomint inside their ski jacket at any moment... Good times. Good times (as it wasn't me).

Let's face it being in any room, regardless of geography, where it's so full of (happy) drunk people that when your pint gets spilt you're not sure which of 10 people spilt it...or if you spile it yourself is a bit of a virus incubation chamber ,
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Mjit wrote:
Steilhang wrote:
@Mjit, the beer pong story was (re)told by Jan Pravsgaard Christensen*, a professor of immunology of infectious diseases, at the University of Copenhagen, as one explanation as to how the virus managed to spread so fast in Ischgl. I have heard the same story from a number of sources. Do you have proof that it is not true?

*"We realized that they exchanged saliva because they were playing beer pong," using their mouths, he said, although he did not single out any specific bars where the game took place. The game involved spitting ping pong balls out of their mouths into beer glasses, and those balls were then reused by other people.



Not the famous Pravasgaard Christensen, the scallywag, who's almost as famous for spending every season in Austria, mostly in the resourt of Ischgl, always spending his apres evenings in the Kitzloch, as he is for his work in the field of immunology of infectious diseases!!!

Oh, you mean the OTHER Pravasgaard Christensen who is equally well known as an expert in the field of immunology of infectious diseases, but isn't known to have ever viaited Austria, let alone Ischgl during the ski season, let alone the Kitzloch apres ski bar/restaurant...

I can only work off of personal experience, made up of over 10 weeks going to Ischgl and spending every other afternoon in the Kitzlosh, both in and out of peak season. In peak season there's no way anyone COULD play beer pong - the game would be throw ball/miss/ball on floor/ball stood on, flat and never seen again. Out of season, well I've played a number of drinking games with the bar staff but nobody has ever so much as suggested beer pong.

Now maybe it has happened...but I'd say the odds are in favour of the journo. who wrote the original "beer pong" piece having never been to Ischgl, let alone the Kitzloch and just went .oO(What would sensationalise this story and fire up a media storm...I know let's just say they were playing beer pong with their mouths)Oo.

All I can say is I'd back myself in a quiz against say journo. in a quiz where the questions were things like "What brand of pear schnapps do they serve in the Kitzloch?", "What year did Arno stop drinking (and look 10 years younger the following season!)?", "Which village does DJ Boris live in during the season?", "Is it worrying when you're skiing in Boris' village and HE recognises YOU on the hill?" (Yes) and "Can you book DJ Boris as a wedding DJ, if the wedding's out of season?" (Also yes).


Oh and for the "he didn't single out any specific bar" I can't think of a single bat in Ischgl that is poo-poo-enough to have the space/inclination for people to play beer pong in a peak season week.

I AM aware of 3 clubs in Ischgl where I'm sure a German or Russian gentleman which sufficient funds could, umm, exchange fluids but have never frequented them myself (my friends reported back that the G&Ts were so expensive they just drank their drinks and left).


How the f#%< did we end up speaking about beer-Ping!?!?! 21 years straight in Ischgl, and +50 weeks there, and have never seen it there!
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DanishRider wrote:
Mjit wrote:
Steilhang wrote:
@Mjit, the beer pong story was (re)told by Jan Pravsgaard Christensen*, a professor of immunology of infectious diseases, at the University of Copenhagen, as one explanation as to how the virus managed to spread so fast in Ischgl. I have heard the same story from a number of sources. Do you have proof that it is not true?

*"We realized that they exchanged saliva because they were playing beer pong," using their mouths, he said, although he did not single out any specific bars where the game took place. The game involved spitting ping pong balls out of their mouths into beer glasses, and those balls were then reused by other people.



Not the famous Pravasgaard Christensen, the scallywag, who's almost as famous for spending every season in Austria, mostly in the resourt of Ischgl, always spending his apres evenings in the Kitzloch, as he is for his work in the field of immunology of infectious diseases!!!

Oh, you mean the OTHER Pravasgaard Christensen who is equally well known as an expert in the field of immunology of infectious diseases, but isn't known to have ever viaited Austria, let alone Ischgl during the ski season, let alone the Kitzloch apres ski bar/restaurant...

I can only work off of personal experience, made up of over 10 weeks going to Ischgl and spending every other afternoon in the Kitzlosh, both in and out of peak season. In peak season there's no way anyone COULD play beer pong - the game would be throw ball/miss/ball on floor/ball stood on, flat and never seen again. Out of season, well I've played a number of drinking games with the bar staff but nobody has ever so much as suggested beer pong.

Now maybe it has happened...but I'd say the odds are in favour of the journo. who wrote the original "beer pong" piece having never been to Ischgl, let alone the Kitzloch and just went .oO(What would sensationalise this story and fire up a media storm...I know let's just say they were playing beer pong with their mouths)Oo.

All I can say is I'd back myself in a quiz against say journo. in a quiz where the questions were things like "What brand of pear schnapps do they serve in the Kitzloch?", "What year did Arno stop drinking (and look 10 years younger the following season!)?", "Which village does DJ Boris live in during the season?", "Is it worrying when you're skiing in Boris' village and HE recognises YOU on the hill?" (Yes) and "Can you book DJ Boris as a wedding DJ, if the wedding's out of season?" (Also yes).


Oh and for the "he didn't single out any specific bar" I can't think of a single bat in Ischgl that is poo-poo-enough to have the space/inclination for people to play beer pong in a peak season week.

I AM aware of 3 clubs in Ischgl where I'm sure a German or Russian gentleman which sufficient funds could, umm, exchange fluids but have never frequented them myself (my friends reported back that the G&Ts were so expensive they just drank their drinks and left).


How the f#%< did we end up speaking about beer-Pong!?!?! 21 years straight in Ischgl, and +50 weeks there, and have never seen it there!
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If I remember correctly the original* story that ran in The Guardian had the classic unattributed (made up) quote along the lines of "One tourist reported people playing beer pong in the Kitzloch, where people take turns to put the same pong pong ball in their mouths and try and launch it in to a drink".

That story was then picked up and re-reported around the world.

* Assuming it was a Guardian original story and not something THEY had picked up and re-reported.
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