Incidence rate jumps to 95.9 Bonn is COVID hotspot in NRW

Bonn · Once again, the seven-day incidence in Bonn has made a huge jump. It rose by 17 points from Friday and is 95.9 as of Sunday. This makes Bonn the current COVID hotspot in NRW.

 A doctor vaccinates a 15-year-old at a vaccination center in Bremen. The state of NRW now recommends vaccination programs for high school students at all schools.   

A doctor vaccinates a 15-year-old at a vaccination center in Bremen. The state of NRW now recommends vaccination programs for high school students at all schools.  

Foto: dpa/Sina Schuldt

The seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants in Bonn rose by 17 points to reach 95.9 on Sunday. It means that Bonn now occupies the unfortunate position of being at the top in NRW in terms of incidence rates.

The current incidence rate can be found on the website of the Landeszentrum für Gesundheit (LZG) NRW, but not on the city's website. There is only the figure from Friday, which was 72.5. At that time, 18 people from Bonn and the region were in Bonn hospitals with COVID 19, six of them were in intensive care, and four were on ventilators.

When the General-Anzeiger contacted the city press office to ask whether the city of Bonn had any explanation for the climbing figures, city spokeswoman Barbara Löcherbach said: "The increase in incidence to 95.9 on Sunday is exponential. Unfortunately, it confirms what scientists have predicted. With the end of school holidays and people returning from vacation and home countries, the delta variant is spreading rapidly. It is much more contagious. We are at the beginning of the fourth wave."

As reported, the NRW state government announced Friday that secondary school students at general education schools, as well as those employed there, will now receive a special vaccination offer. These vaccination offers are to be organized in the 53 North Rhine-Westphalian vaccination centers by the districts and independent cities. In this framework, mobile vaccination services could also be offered in the schools in coordination with the respective school authorities and management, as is being done at vocational colleges already.

The GA asked the city of Bonn how prepared it was to make this vaccination offer for the students of the upper grades and city spokeswoman Löcherbach responded: "Vaccination campaigns are already being prepared at or in the vocational colleges." In terms of vaccination initiatives for secondary level students of general education schools, this possibility only became known on Friday when the state government issued a decree.

Eike Schultz, principal of the Tannenbusch-Gymnasium, had already suggested in an interview with the General-Anzeiger last Thursday that mobile vaccination teams should be sent to all schools. He personally would be willing to provide rooms and class time at his school for this purpose. "Of course, I very much welcome the fact that the state government is now making this possible," Schultz told the GA on Sunday. In his view, it would be even better to take full advantage of the age range of the student body and offer vaccination to everyone from the age of twelve who wanted it and whose parents agreed.

In the case of twelve- to 15-year-olds, the NRW state government continues to point out that there are vaccination offers for this age group in the vaccination centers of the cities and municipalities. The presence of a pediatrician is no longer required for the second vaccination of children because they assume that the children and their parents have received comprehensive information at the first vaccination, the state says on its website.

In Berlin, a letter sent out to all youth from age 12 and up is causing a furor. The letter, sent by health official Dilek Kalayci (54, SPD) urges children and youth to get vaccinated and is personally addressed to them. Media reports say that the letter had been sent to 180,000 young Berliners between the ages of 12 and 17. Following complaints from numerous parents, including a former Bonn resident, Berlin's data protection commissioner has become involved, according to the Berlin media.

Orig. text: Lisa Inhoffen

Translation: ck

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