A number of Irish tourists have been found to be breaching Covid travel laws at a ski resort in Austria.
96 foreign tourists from a number of countries, including Ireland and the UK, are facing fines of over 2 thousand euro.
The rules in St Anton allow ski lifts to open but hotels are closed to international visitors, and this week cabinet announced tougher restrictions to further supress any unnecessary travel, including mandatory self-isolation.
However opposition parties have criticised the move, saying that mandatory quarantine is needed and that the new measures don't go far enough.
Austria has had 413,208 cases and 7,703 deaths in the pandemic so far, with a population of just over 9 million.
The town's mayor says some of the tourists registered as job-seekers to get around the restrictions, even though no work is available, and while regular skiers cannot stay overnight at a resort, coronavirus clusters have emerged in the past at teacher training courses on the slopes, which were allowed to be held for visitors from across Europe.
Police say the Irish tourists breached lockdown and immigration regulations as well as the law on registering an address.
Hero image: Abbeylein/Pixabay
