The city of Bonn is calling on people to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Vaccinations without an appointment are possible at the mobile vaccination campaigns on site as well as at the vaccination center in the WCCB, they said. Vaccinations of children and adolescents 12 years and older take place daily at the vaccination center, according to the city of Bonn. The city will inform secondary schools, he said. "According to specifications of the state, the signature of a parent or guardian is sufficient for the vaccination of 12- to 15-year-olds; adolescents from the age of 16 can be vaccinated without parental consent, provided that it can be assumed that they have the necessary capacity to understand and consent to the vaccination," the city said.

Initial vaccinations for students 12 years of age and older in general secondary schools are to be administered at the Immunization Center. Second vaccinations will take place on site after consultation with the schools. In this context, the municipality asks that vaccination appointments for children that have already been made with the pediatricians in private practice be kept.

Vaccinations for adults will continue to take place in the vaccination bus, among other places. This is on Thursday and Friday, 19 and 20 August, from 12 noon to 6pm on the Münsterplatz and on Saturday, 21 August, from 10am to 3am at the flea market in the Rheinaue. The vaccination center is open daily from 8am to 8pm up to and including Sept. 1. On September 2, vaccinations are offered from 8am to 8pm in the vaccination bus.

The fourth wave of the Corona pandemic is accelerating: the health offices in Rhineland-Palatinate registered 456 new infections within one day, the state investigation office announced on Wednesday. Thus, the seven-day incidence climbed to 40.7, which is the highest value since May 25. On Tuesday, it was still 35.5.

Currently, 3447 people in Rhineland-Palatinate are proven to be infected with the virus Sars-CoV-2. Since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, 3918 Covid-19 patients have died in Rhineland-Palatinate, unchanged from the previous day.

The highest incidence on Wednesday was in the Palatinate district of Germersheim, with 78.3, followed by the cities of Worms (77.8) and Ludwigshafen (67.9), and the Altenkirchen district (65.2). Seven-day incidence is lowest in the city of Pirmasens at 12.4.

Associations of disco and brothel operators are sharply criticizing what they see as an "unfair" and "nonsensical" PCR testing requirement for unvaccinated patrons. According to new Corona rules in NRW, starting on Friday in cities and counties with a seven-day incidence above 35, anyone who has not been vaccinated or recovered must present a negative PCR test no more than 48 hours old before visiting discos, dance events or brothels. For other indoor events or indoor sports, a rapid test is sufficient.

"No young person gets tested well before the weekend for around 70 Euro. That's a vaccination requirement that's not called that and is just to put pressure on," said disco owner Holger Bösch, deputy president of the Professional Association of German Discotheques and Dance Businesses.

In terms of Corona vaccinations, at least every second inhabitant is now fully vaccinated in all 16 German states. Saxony was the last state to hit the 50 percent mark, with 50.1 percent now vaccinated, according to data from the Federal Ministry of Health. Four states are already above the 60 percent mark: Bremen with 68.3 percent of residents fully vaccinated, Saarland with 62.5 percent, Schleswig-Holstein with 61.4 percent and North Rhine-Westphalia with 60.3 percent. Nationwide, 57.8 percent of the population - 48.1 million people - are fully vaccinated.

(Original text: ga/dpa; Translation: Mareike Graepel)