How would you describe your current situation?
Everything is quiet here in Steinegg, eerily quiet. You can't hear any cars, sometimes a chainsaw or a tractor. You don't even see any planes in the sky, just birds chirping.

Sounds quite idyllic actually!
Well, we have a man in quarantine in the village and our neighbor, not even 40 years old, was taken to the hospital yesterday with a severe fever. No one is allowed to visit him, which is a huge burden for us. Apart from that, we're fine, we want for nothing. We have taken precautions and stocked up on enough food. Every step outside increases the risk of infection. We organize fresh food once a week with the Biokistl delivery service.

Did you see this situation coming or were you caught on the wrong foot?
I've been following the spread of the coronavirus since last year. When the Chinese set up a hospital in Wuhan in a short space of time, I knew from then on that the situation was very serious. When it started in Lombardy, I became more worried every day. The politicians underestimated the situation for too long, but it is also an extremely difficult decision to paralyze an entire country. If the virus hadn't been so dangerous after all, you are again responsible for effectively ruining a country. However, the South Tyrolean government took the necessary measures in good time. In my opinion, our neighboring countries such as Switzerland continue to underestimate the danger. The population is still not being warned enough.

You and many other bike hotels in South Tyrol were due to start the season at the beginning of April. That's not going to happen now, is it? No, we will definitely not be able to open at Easter. At the beginning of March, we informed our guests that we would be postponing the opening until April 25. Bookings can be canceled free of charge. In South Tyrol, all hotels and ski lifts were closed on March 11. My daughters have lost their jobs as a result and are on paid leave. The situation is serious for hoteliers who are open all year round. One of them is Alex Resch from the "Goldene Krone" in Brixen. His costs continue to run, but staff expenses and supplier invoices still have to be paid. We, on the other hand, don't have our business open and have no expenses, so to speak, but we don't earn any money either. That's why we can't pay back any loans. I currently hope that we will be able to return to normal operations to some extent in mid-May, but June is probably more realistic.

Italy is about two weeks ahead of countries like Switzerland and Germany when it comes to measures against the coronavirus pandemic. What do we have to prepare for?
You only have to look at the situation in Lombardy. It was the first to be hit by the coronavirus, so to speak. Italy then sealed off everything, before people fled and headed south. But this spread the virus further. In Lombardy, the situation is dire. In one town, you could still read just over a page of obituaries in the daily newspaper on February 9. A month later, there were already ten pages. I think that says it all.

What can we learn from this?
When the ski resorts were recently closed here, this should have been done throughout the entire Alpine region. The best strategy for containment is a total lockdown. Work should only be allowed in essential professions. Everyone must stay at home. We are all bikers, I have a new e-mountain bike in the cellar, but I leave it there. If I get injured and need treatment in hospital, it could happen that I take the place of a patient in need in the intensive care unit and he might die because of me. But even with minor injuries, I put a strain on the already overworked staff. There will be many deaths, mostly old people with pre-existing conditions - but don't we all have a father, mother, grandma or grandpa? Would you put their lives at risk because of a party?
Many are describing the situation as hysterical. What do you think of these measures?
At the beginning I also thought to myself: hamster purchases, is that necessary? Yes, it has to be. Stock up on groceries so that you don't have to go shopping as often as necessary. Organize a delivery service. We have to be disciplined and stick to the guidelines: Stay at home! That's bad in the city if you only have a small balcony, for example. We're better off in the village, we can also do something in the garden.

These measures are causing enormous economic damage, especially to tourism. Could it be that these measures are worse than the virus itself?
If they can save human lives, then such measures are absolutely necessary. But the economic consequences will be dire. But to be honest: our system was already inhumane anyway, and our prosperity has only been possible thanks to the exploitation of other people in the Third World. We need to rethink this, and the coronavirus is a sign of things to come!

How are you now proceeding as a hotelier in order to keep at least some of the wipes dry?
We are a seasonal business, we have spoken to our employees and they will be back again this season. Unfortunately, we can't give them work now, which we are very sorry about, because some employees are self-employed and don't earn any money. Others are still on salary compensation and at least get some money. Whether we will really be able to employ all the staff is still written in the stars. Otherwise, we have no expenses in the hotel, have reduced everything to zero and are not making any investments. Expenditure is limited to the food we consume. That's manageable. But I still have to talk to the bank, the first installment of a loan repayment is due in June. But there is help from the banks, I'm confident about that.

A look into the near future: when do you think we can expect things to return to normal? Mountain biking in the Alps this summer, a realistic scenario?
I hope that we will be virus-free by the beginning of June. Germany, Austria and Switzerland are 14 days later and I don't think many people will be riding on vacation then. If we're lucky, then the fall will be good. But I don't see it happening this year. Biking will certainly still be possible this year. But I hope that many people will rethink and change from a consumer society to a nature-conscious, environmentally friendly, humane society. We have so much to change, let's get on with it and stay healthy!

Kurt Resch is the host at the Bio- und Bike-Hotel Steineggerhof in Steinegg near Bolzano/Bozen.

Reading tips from Kurt Resch on the topic of corona

• taz.de/Corona-in-Italy/!5668464/
• stol.it/artikel/chronik/in-bergamo-wuetet-der-coronavirus-und-forder- immer-mehr-tote
• facebook.com/falk.science
• thefuturenachcorona.com
• n-tv.de/politik/Das-fliegt-euch-um-die-Ohren-article21650640.html