Germany: Leaving the house with a pass and application? A proposal was made to lift restrictions

The German chamber of commerce and industry (DIHK) sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel and the minister of Economy of Germany a plan of best practises to monitor the flow of people. The organisation demands that they implemented as a soon as possible, enabling entrepreneurs to resume operations and people to exit from closure caused by COVID-19.

Admission tickets and an interactive map to track the number of people gathering at a given location.

The German Chamber of commerce (DIHK) argues that there are simpler digital solutions that allow you to control the number of people entering one store, restaurant or other service point. “Digital solutions can help keep a distance in everyday life without having to stay at home,” DIHK wrote in a document that was sent to Chancellor Angela Merkel, Minister of Economy Peter Altmaier and the leaders of the party forming the government coalition.

The six pager letter presents the concept of lifting restrictions, which summarizes the conclusion presented to the head of the German government during her meeting last week with representatives of entrepreneurs and trade unions.

DIHK made a list of proposals that stated: limiting access to shops, hotels and pedestrian zones through ticket systems. It was further added that there are more versatile effective ways and tools to prevent the formation of pistons.

They have been in the past used to control large flows of tourist traffic. The number of tickets would have to be determined on the basis of epidemiological recommendations.

The tickets in question would be in digital form through the appropriate applications.

A pass to beaches, lakes and national parks?

It is believed that thanks to special application, customers could also book the hours they intend to shop in a given store, or settle some matters at service point. Such a system could facilitate the flow of customers hence reducing infection risks while at the same time providing stores with permanent jobs.

This could be particularly helpful for the resumption of restaurants and cafes.

“To calculate the occupancy rate, which is very important from an epidemiological point of view, restaurants would indicate how many places they have at their disposal so that customers have the required distance,” explained the head of the association.

DIHK also proposed to introduce a pass system for access to beaches, lakes an national parks.

In the future, people could be admitted to market places and pedestrian zones based on the tickets issued.

In addition, DIHK suggests using real-time published data to even out people flows. It is a solution that is already commonly used to alert drivers to traffic jams. Thanks to a special map, users would be warned against crowds on buses or trains.

Corona pass for those who have recovered and those who test negative

The DIHK also advocates a digital corona pass based on blockchain technology. “With the Corona Pass, people can prove that they have been tested for the virus and continue to take tests,” the concept says. The information would be stored in a blockchain, pseudonymized and stored in a cloud in accordance with data protection.

“We need short-term testing of such models in different municipalities and regions,” demands the DIHK. Appropriate solutions could then be approved and rolled out across the board based on the knowledge gained. “The economy is ready to do its part to take further steps towards opening up.”