Anyone who has had the experience of getting lost on a mountain, falling into a crevasse or being buried under an avalanche of snow, probably does not care by whom they are saved. The main thing is that someone shows up quickly – whether vaccinated, recovered or just tested.
In the Austrian province of Carinthia however, those in need of urgent help can no longer simply rely on rescuers because every third mountain rescuer is no longer allowed to work there.
For mountaineers and skiers, southern Austria has become too dangerous because of the federal state’s ridiculous new Corona measures.
As an unvaccinated person, rescuer Jürgen Gross is no longer allowed to work. Facing a huge backlash, Gross told heute.at that the federal state mountain rescue service had tried to pretend that the recommendation had not been binding.
But Corinthia will no doubt go along with an advertising campaign for “child vaccinations” that is currently being prepared by the government and soon “Omicron” contact persons will be locked up at home for 14 days. Critics will also be silenced by new “laws of truth” against “fake news”.
The head of the Carinthian mountain rescue justified his strict rule claiming that operations had to be maintained and that one’s employees had to be “protected” by injections that neither stop transmission nor illness. But clearly victims of accidents do not need protection since some 240 of the 800 emergency services staff will no longer be allowed to work.
Employees are only allowed to work with a “valid 2G” vaccine passport: Either double jabbed (and soon only triple jabbed) or recovered persons. Around a third of the volunteer rescuers now have to stay at home.
Mountain rescue chief lies about ‘non-binding’ 2G rule
Volunteer Gross was last deployed at the end of November, reported Hello TV, a private television broadcaster in Austria. A forest worker who had an accident had to be rescued recently. But because he is not vaccinated, Gross was not allowed to go out to help the victim even though he was the nearest rescuer. “That hurts, of course. If I had time to sit at home and know that I could help, I would be there immediately, but I am not allowed to,” explained Gross in the interview.
On November 26, the Carinthian Mountain Rescue Service sent out a letter stating that only those mountain rescuers who had valid 2G proof were allowed to be deployed. Later, upon request from Hello TV, the Federal Association of Mountain Rescuers maintained that this recommendation was not binding.
The majority of federal states have spoken out against a 2G regulation and therefore rely on 3G – which includes tested individuals – or wearing an FFP2 mask. Carinthia is the only one of the seven federal states that relies on 2G.
Relying on ‘computers’ to save people in distress
After a post on Facebook in which Gross wrote that he now had to stop working with a heavy heart, there was a flood of indignation. Another letter from the Austrian mountain rescue service followed. It was not in the spirit of the initiative to exclude mountain rescuers from the work, it claimed.
But Jürgen Gross’ joy at reading the second announcement did not last long. Only days later, the Carinthian Mountain Rescue once again spoke out clearly in favor of the 2G regulation: “We want to maintain the ability of our organization to act, especially in times of pandemics,” said Otmar Striednig, Carinthian Mountain Rescue Manager.
Otmar Striednig has now complained of economic and social damage, because “supporters and sponsors lack an understanding of this regulation”. Striednig maintains that he never wanted to “exclude anyone” and that those rescuers who had to stay at home could contribute from their home computers, for example. For Gross, however, it is clear that help is needed on site and not in front of the laptop in the living room.
https://freewestmedia.com/2021/12/15/unvaccinated-austrian-mountain-rescuers-forced-to-stay-at-home/