No more contract with Hesse: The start page of a Luca app is shown on a smartphone.
Image: dpa
Hesse is letting the contract for using the Luca app expire. Only a fraction of the registered locations actively use the app, according to Health Minister Kai Klose (Greens).
Hessen will not extend the contract for using the Luca app for contact tracing in the corona pandemic. “We weighed the costs and benefits against each other and ultimately came to the conclusion that we will not continue the cooperation beyond the end of March 2022,” said Minister of Health Kai Klose (Greens) on Wednesday in Wiesbaden.
“During the pandemic events from spring to autumn 2021, Luca also contributed to better and faster tracking of contact persons of infected people in Hesse,” he explained. The protection of vulnerable groups and sensitive facilities has been the focus for several months, so that comprehensive follow-up is no longer necessary.
Of the almost 37,000 Luca locations registered in Hesse, only a fraction actively used the app, explained Klose. There were hardly any inquiries to Luca from the health authorities either. Hesse had purchased the app together with other states in 2021 to enable contact tracing in electronic form. Baden-Württemberg also announced on Wednesday that it would not extend the contract.