Rome calls on over-50s to get vaccinated as infections rise

Health advisors in Italy are calling on people over the age of 50 to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as the country records an increase in case numbers.
Italy's seven-day incidence rate, of cases per 100,000 people over a week, has risen to 73 nationwide, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
The more transmissible Delta strain is also spreading rapidly.
It is better to be safe and be inoculated, given that people gather more often in summer, the ministry said.
The government is still trying to encourage older people in particular to get vaccinated. "There are more than 4 million people over the age of 50 who have not yet even received a first vaccine," Italian medic Franco Locatelli told La Stampa newspaper.
Italy is also allowing young people between the ages of 12 and 18 to receive the vaccine without an appointment as of Monday, according to pandemic commissioner Francesco Figliuolo.
Some 65 per cent of people over the age of 12 have been vaccinated, in a country of 60 million.
Proof of vaccination, recovery from infection or a negative test is required for people to dine indoors or go to cultural institutions, under Italy's "green pass" scheme.
Meanwhile officials continue to debate the best way to approach the beginning of the new academic year in September.
The government is calling for in-person teaching to start again, and wants teachers to take part in the green pass scheme as well, a proposal opposed by trade unions.