Freistaat Thüringen

During the current Corona crisis, it is only natural that citizens are unsettled and have a lot of questions. In order to answer these questions quickly and provide citizens with a guide, the state of Thuringia, together with VIER, has launched a citizens' hotline within only three days. Since the 26th of March, citizens have been able to get in touch with competent contact persons of the state government and receive answers to all of their questions regarding the pandemic and its consequences for public life.

The decision of the State Chancellery of Thuringia to set up such a hotline was made on Friday, 20th of March, explains the State Chancellery staff member responsible for the hotline. After a corresponding request had been received by VIER on Sunday, the contract for setting up the ACD for the hotline as well as a local service number provided by VIER was already established on Monday. 

According to the employee, the decisive factor was the simple operation and configuration of the cloud-based software as well as the possibility of up-to-date monitoring in order to react to changes in use at any time.  "For us, the launch of a hotline was absolutely new territory!" Just three days later, the call distribution was set up and the number was available - Minister President Bodo Ramelow announced its launch via Twitter! 

Currently, a total of 15 to 20 employees answer all requests from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm. "Some of the colleagues also work from their home offices and are easily connected via the cloud! It is important to the Thuringian state government to offer citizens a real contact person who understands their concerns and needs and takes them seriously. "Automatic procedures were therefore out of the question for us!"  

The service has been well received: During peak times so far, around 30 callers successfully sought contact with the Corona Hotline of the State of Thuringia within one hour!

The Thuringian State Chancellery is the government headquarters of the Free State and the official residence of the Prime Minister. The building of the former Kurmainzer Statthalterei at Regierungsstraße 73 is located in the centre of Erfurt's old town. According to the constitution of the Free State of Thuringia, the Prime Minister determines the guidelines of government policy. He chairs the state government, directs its business and represents the state of Thuringia externally. 

Learn more: staatskanzlei-thueringen.de