Final Word from Thursday, April 1, 2021

A shutdown of Czech industry over Easter isn't going to happen. Not that 40 leading experts didn't really make an effort to push it through. They signed a petition calling for 40 days of idleness, and they got support from a big part of the media. Even the chief macroeconomic strategist of the country's largest bank, Tomáš Sedláček of ČSOB, liked the idea. Personally, he said on OVM, he would favor an intensive, harder lockdown that included industry. In contrast, the head of the largest manufacturer, Chair Thomas Schäfer of Škoda Auto, told LN that a forced shutdown would be a catastrophe for the economy and makes no sense from a production or epidemiological standpoint. This will not stop the experts. They missed their Easter opportunity, but they will be waiting for the next one. The two holidays in early May would normally be perfect. Alas, they both fall on a Sat. this year, which means the experts might actually have to come up with some expert reasons next time. [ Czech Republic MeSES health economy scientists ]