An unnamed U.S. citizen is to blame for a large outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the German ski town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, according to German officials and CNN.
The US citizen traveled for a vacation, and returned to Germany exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. They were instructed to quarantine, but did not.
The unnamed person works at Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, a resort operated by The United States Army. There have been 24 people at the lodge who have now tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the resort to close for the next two weeks.
The town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen has also seen a spike in cases. It is home to a variety of downhill and Nordic ski resorts.
Yikes. Stories like this show how quickly COVID-19 can spread in a resort-style setting. I can’t lie… this makes me concerned for the 2020-2021 ski season. We can only hope that people take quarantining and social distancing practices seriously to avoid outbreaks at American ski resort towns.
German officials are currently investigating whether the American should be charged for “assault through negligence”. Good.