Final Word from Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Commuters to Germany and manufacturers who ship their goods to or through that neighboring country find themselves today in a similar situation to the one that many business owners were first in last spring. At that time it was the initial state of emergency and the closing of non-essential stores, restaurants, bars and hotels that was the source of uncertainty about the future. Now it is the British mutation of the coronavirus that is interfering with cross-border travel and shipping. Just like last spring, everyone is saying that it is only a temporary setback and that things will soon be back to normal. Yet restaurants, bars, hotels and many retailers have been hearing this same thing for most of the past year, to no avail. And now the South African variant is becoming the next disrupter. Each affected commuter or business owner must decide whether faith in Germany to do the right thing is any more merited now than the faith others had in the Czech government last spring was. [ Czech Republic wave factory UK U.K. coronavirus worker deserved ]