According to research by WELT AM SONNTAG, further costs of up to 70 million euros are expected for the federal government’s Corona warning app by the end of the year. This emerges from a request to the Federal Ministry of Health. In February, the house had estimated this value at 50 million euros. The costs are mainly incurred for the plan to further expand the app as a “component of digital contact tracing and to integrate additional functionalities”.
“The total costs that have been paid out so far amount to around 160 million euros,” said a spokeswoman for Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). The software company SAP and the Telekom subsidiary T-Systems take care of the development and operation of the application.
The increased costs are incurred, for example, for the “connection of further test centers” or for the “improved display” of the current status certificate, which now “enables test management for family members”. In addition, the extension of technically expired certificates was provided and further “small improvements and adjustments” were made.
The check-in function for contact tracing in case of infection can still be used. “Whether there is a need for this functionality in autumn and winter depends largely on the further course of the pandemic,” says the Federal Ministry of Health. In the spring of 2022, the Federal Court of Auditors had already initiated an examination procedure for the economic viability of the Corona warning app.
