It is being reported that the UK’s first case of Coronavirus may have actually been contracted in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl, where criminal investigations are underway into a potential coverup of early Coronavirus cases.
Daren Bland, 50, from East Sussex visited Iscghl in mid-January with three friends from Denmark and the USA. Upon returning from their holiday, all fell ill, suffering symptoms of Coronavirus.
It is thought that Mr Bland then passed the virus on to his wife and children back in the UK. If so, the virus was active in Britain weeks sooner than previously thought.
Official tests are yet to confirm whether the family definitely contracted COVID-19.
Ischgl is now thought to be the centre-point of hundreds cases of COVID-19 across Austria, Germany and Scandinavia, after holidaymakers returned to their homes, unaware they were exposed to the virus.
BBC news is reporting that a criminal investigation is now taking place into one bar in the region which allegedly failed to report a case of COVID-19 in a member of staff.
“We visited the Kitzloch [après bar] and it was rammed, with people singing and dancing on the tables”, Mr Bland told The Telegraph on Wednesday. “People were hot and sweaty from skiing and waiters were delivering shots to tables in their hundreds. You couldn’t have a better home for a virus”.
Ischgl is known for its energetic, often busy après-ski bars, which may have been breeding spots for the virus.
The resort officially closed on March 14 2020, but many believe that the resort should have been closed earlier, after rumours of cases in the area began.
There have so far been 22 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in East Sussex, out of a local population of 554,590.
