The Corona warning app will no longer issue mutual warnings after contact with people who have tested positive, as announced by the Federal Ministry of Health. Additionally, the app will be put into “sleep mode” on June 1 and will no longer receive updates due to the more relaxed pandemic situation. However, the app can still be kept on cell phones to continue using the electronic vaccination cards.
It is suggested, however, to use another app for this purpose which will continue to receive updates and can be installed on new smartphones if the Corona-Warn-App disappears from the app stores in its sleep mode. CovPass from the Robert Koch Institute is recommended for this.
The app has been installed more than 48 million times since its launch in June 2020, and nearly nine million people have shared positive test results to distribute a total of 270 million alerts to other users. The contracts with service providers SAP and T-Systems expire on May 31, and the cost for the app rose from the originally assumed 50 million euros to 73 million euros in the past pandemic year.
23 million euros have been earmarked for operation this year alone, initially until the planned expiry of the contracts at the end of May. The total cost for the development and operation of the app is more than 220 million euros.
If the situation changes, the app can be quickly woken up from sleep mode and adjusted, according to a spokesman. However, some functions will be suspended from June, as the app enters sleep mode.
