Germany's Covid-19 warning app enters into 'sleep mode'

Germany's coronavirus track-and-trace app, used by millions of people to alert them to potential exposure to the virus, entered into "sleep mode" on Wednesday.
According to Germany's Ministry of Health, the so-called Corona Warn App will not be updated or developed more until further notice, after the contracts with service providers SAP and T-Systems expired on May 31.
Given the more relaxed pandemic situation, the function for potential exposure warnings was switched off on May 1 already. However, users could keep and use the app on their phones, for example to continue using saved electronic vaccination certificates.
The app had enabled about 9 million people to trigger more than 270 million warnings following a positive testm, according to its developers. After encounters with someone who had tested positive, users received a red warning display.
Since its launch on June 16, 2020, the app has reportedly been downloaded more than 48 million times. Up to 35 million users had actively used the application.
According to the Health Ministry, the app can be "woken up" should the situation become critical again. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach appealed to users not to delete the app from their phones.
"It may very well be that we have to use it again for Covid-19. But it may also be that we develop it further for other infectious diseases," said Lauterbach.