The number of corona infections is also increasing continuously in Hesse.

The state government is therefore worried that returning travelers could cause even more infections at the end of the summer vacation.

“We still have two weeks of vacation ahead of us, but many citizens are already returning from vacation,” said Hesse's Minister of Economic Affairs Tarek Al-Wazir (The Greens) on Monday and warned: “We know that the summer vacation would end like this a year ago something like the beginning of the next lockdown.

We don't want to experience that again. ”The state government wants to announce on Tuesday what consequences will be drawn from this development and from the decisions of the state leaders and the Chancellor last week.

Monika Ganster

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Helmut Schwan

Head of the regional section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

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The development remains particularly striking in the city of Offenbach (incidence of 76), but also in the surrounding district (53.1) as well as in Frankfurt (50), Wiesbaden (50.6), Darmstadt (49.4) and in Main-Taunus Circle (48.2), the number of new infections skyrockets.

The health authorities report a high proportion of young people, many of them unvaccinated, who returned from vacation with the virus in their luggage.

Two weeks before the end of the summer holidays, the question arises again of how schoolchildren can be protected from the corona virus. The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) updated its vaccination recommendation for children on Monday. Based on new data, especially from the American vaccination program with nearly ten million vaccinated children and adolescents, risks for the age group from 12 to 17 years of age could be assessed more reliably than before. Although very few young male vaccinated people had heart muscle inflammation as a side effect, they had an uncomplicated course under the appropriate medical treatment. On the other hand, mathematical modeling suggests that there is a significantly higher risk for children and adolescents,to become infected in a fourth wave of infections with the delta variant. Therefore, after weighing up the risks, the STIKO is now in favor of immunizing children between the ages of 12 and 17 years. The final comment procedure with the federal states and the specialist groups is still pending.

Without registering with the children for vaccination

Parents and their children in this age group can already go to one of the Hessian vaccination centers without prior notification.

There the young people are immunized with vaccines from BioNTech or Moderna.

Numerous paediatricians were reluctant to vaccinate as long as the STIKO recommendation was pending, but there will be more offers in the practices of resident doctors in the future.

In order to promote vaccination readiness in the last two weeks of the Hessian summer vacation, Minister of Economic Affairs Al-Wazir started the nationwide action phase “Testing "Vaccination, caution", with the help of which the state government calls on the Hessians to do so and to adhere to the corona rules. In the vicinity of the Erbenheimer Warte, the deputy prime minister unfurled a banner that the car driver with the slogan “Show the virus the syringe. Get vaccinated now ”prompts you to get immunized. Another slogan is “After the vacation is before the test”.

The banners are attached to bridges at a total of eleven locations on two-lane federal roads with heavy traffic throughout Hesse.

How long they will hang there is not yet certain.

Al-Wazir pointed out that the incidence was 11 “exactly one year ago” and is currently around 35 nationwide.

"This shows that the corona pandemic is not on vacation," he said, explaining the start of the campaign.

Nevertheless, the situation is better than a year ago because there is now the possibility of vaccinating or getting tested quickly.

Infection chains identified early by mass rapid tests could be broken.

"Test, test, test."

The transport minister, who was vaccinated himself, was convinced of the effectiveness of the banner campaign. In addition to the banners, five LED notice boards are also used, two of which are at Frankfurt Airport and another two on Bundesstraße 49. On them, road users read questions such as “Already vaccinated?” Or “Already tested?”. Hessen-Mobil President Durth described the campaign as "extremely useful", because he estimates that 20,000 to 60,000 vehicles pass each of the locations every day.

“Test, test, test. That is part of fighting a pandemic, "said Al-Wazir when asked and added that you have to reach the citizens where they are - on the street. Last year, the number of infections was also driven up by travelers returning from vacation by car. However, the Minister of Transport refused to use test centers again on motorways and federal highways. “We now have a different legal situation than a year ago because you are no longer allowed to enter the country without being tested. Therefore, a test center after the border would be a violation of the law, ”he justified his rejection. The Minister of Transport recommended that those returning to travel who had to be vaccinated, recovered or tested negative,to be tested again after a certain time after their return home "just to be on the safe side".