Major countries are consequently announcing a cancellation for their new year’s event, especially in big cities, amid concerns of the highly contagious Covid-19 omicron variant that has taken over the delta strain in some countries.
Last month, there was a glimpse of hope that the new year events would be held in many countries after nearly a two-year drought of celebration due to the deadly virus outbreak in March 2020. However, the discovery of a new strain which is now called omicron derailed all the new year plans.
The omicron variant can spread at a faster rate than delta strain, but with lower severity, according to the early study and research. The virus took over the U.S. within three weeks after the first discovery in South Africa. Now, the strain has been reported in nearly 70 countries.
Major cities around the world have to cancel the long-awaited new year events to prevent the spread of the omicron variant. Athens, Berlin, London, New Delhi, Paris, Rop De Janero, and Rome are among cities that have cancelled the event. Thailand’s Bangkok also cancelled the event as well.
Meanwhile, people are missing the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with their family after United Airlines and Delta Air Lines announced on Thursday that they have cancelled dozens of flights on Christmas Eve as the coronavirus hit crews. More than 131 mainline flights of United scheduled for Friday were cancelled, representing about 7% of its schedule. Meanwhile, more than 90 flights of Delta were also cancelled, representing 4% of the schedule on Friday.
“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” wrote United Airlines in a statement. “As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport.”
Covid-19 seems to be celebrating the new year with earthlings into 2022. Still, the improvement in handling with the virus is far better than when it first appeared, while scientists have put a lot of effort in studying the virus. The booster shots appear to be working against omicron as well. All we need to do is raise out guards and live our normal lives in a new-normal style.
