Three years after the first corona lockdown, the Bavarian Business Association (VBW) is calling for faster digitization of administration and healthcare. According to the association, Bavaria and its economy have survived the pandemic well overall – but he sees a lot of catching up to do with the authorities. “The pandemic has relentlessly exposed our weaknesses in digitization,” said CEO Bertram Brossardt on Wednesday.
As an example, Brossardt cited the application, approval and payment of Corona aid. “The opportunities of digitization in the health sector must also be better exploited.” In both areas, there was a lot of criticism from companies and the self-employed about bureaucracy, paper forms and paperwork, especially at the beginning of the aid measures.
The reason for the VBW position paper is that the drastic restriction of public life during the first corona lockdown is this week for the third time: The lockdown was decided on March 16, 2020 and came into force on the 22nd. As a result, industry and trade largely came to a standstill for several weeks, kindergartens, schools and universities were closed.
With a view to possible similarly serious crises in the future, the VBW calls on the state government and the federal government to avoid months of closures in the education system. “Current studies show that the complete lockdown of educational institutions had a significant negative impact on children and young people,” said Brossardt. “It is a central social task to develop and maintain concepts now so that adolescents are less affected by comparable crisis situations in the future.”
