The city is tightening its own Corona protection measures: As of Wednesday, 17 November, the 2G rule will apply to all city events, according to the press office. Admission only for vaccinated and recovered persons also at the Bonn Christmas Market, where the 2G rule will also apply. Due to the increasingly critical Corona situation, the city administration has put the previously planned measures to the test and made this decision. This was announced by the City of Bonn on Monday evening. The city is in contact with the responsible ministry of the state of NRW. At the same time, the reintroduction of compulsory masks in the inner city area is being examined. The Christmas market will open this year on 17 November. The regulations on 2G and the mask requirement are to come into force with the opening of the Christmas Market.

Exceptions to the 2G rule also apply to children up to the age of twelve, as they are regularly PCR-tested in their day-care centres and schools (so-called lollipop test). Adolescents from 12 to 18 years need a test that must not be older than 24 hours.

Virologist Christian Drosten has dampened expectations of the 3G rule in public transport. Testing as a prerequisite for access would not prevent infection of the unvaccinated, the head of virology at Berlin's Charité hospital said on Monday at an expert hearing in the Bundestag on the Corona plans of the nascent traffic light coalition. One is now in a "high-incidence period" and must reckon with the fact that presently vaccinated persons would have a "substantial risk" of being infected undetected. The goal of protecting the unvaccinated from infection is thus missed. In stable social groups, such as at the workplace, the 3G rule could still be effective, for example with tests every two days. However, logistical requirements stand in the way.

The unvaccinated, who are supposed to be protected by the 2G rule, could carry the virus home, for example through children or grandchildren, the virologist explained. School operations should and must continue despite the high incidences, he said. "Under this impression, I think one has to think about how to introduce an additional layer of protection here for those who are not vaccinated and can be infected in the private sphere." That runs through group size and freedom to meet, he said.

German-speaking countries show the lowest vaccination rates in Europe. That is why several celebrities and other users have been campaigning for a Corona vaccination under the hashtag #allesindenArm on Twitter. "Hello, I'm Igor Levit and I'm a pianist. I am vaccinated. Science and solidarity are the way out of the pandemic. Therefore: get vaccinated!" read, for example, the statement by star pianist Levit on Sunday. Many other people posted tweets with similar wording. Among them were Verena Altenberger, Marcus Mittermeier, Torsten Sträter and also Manuela Schwesig. The virologist Melanie Brinkmann also posted a statement - as did Smudo. There were more than 61,000 tweets on the hashtag by Monday morning alone.

In Bonn, the seven-day incidence rose after the weekend. As the city announced on its website on Monday, the value was 128. On Friday, the value was 120.4. In the last seven days, 423 people in the federal city have been newly infected with the coronavirus. This means that 498 people are currently considered infected. The number of people who have died in connection with Sars-CoV-2 is 271. In the Rhine-Sieg district, meanwhile, the incidence value is 145.4. Approximately 2500 people are currently infected there.

Original text: dpa/ga - Translation: Mareike Graepel