Millions of American people cautiously continued with travel plans during a second Christmas season clouded by the pandemic, despite a growing wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant, although many were forced to reduce their ambitions.
Moses Jimenez, a counter of Long Beach, Mississippi, went ahead with a New York City trip with his wife and three children, even though the latest torrent of coronavirus cases has dashed his hopes of seeing a performance by "Hamilton" or visit some museums. "Hamilton" It was one of a dozen Broadway shows that were forced to cancel shows this week when the cast and crew tested positive for COVID-19. Museums were removed from the family's itinerary because many now require proof of vaccination and the two youngest children are not eligible for the vaccine.
Instead of, JimenezThe 33-year-old said her offspring will get the most out of roaming the city streets and parks, while also seeing family and friends in the area. On Christmas Day, they plan to enjoy a home cooked meal, a family tradition, in their Airbnb lodging in the city. "We just wanted to get out of the house, really, take the kids into town for Christmas," Jimenez told Reuters on Thursday at New York LaGuardia Airport.
COVID-19 infections have increased in the U.S in the last days due to Omicron, which was first detected in November and now accounts for nearly three-quarters of us cases and up to 90% in some areas, such as the east coast. The average number of new COVID-19 Infections increased 37% to 165,000 per day over the past week, according to a Reuters tally https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states.
INCREASES IN INFECTIONS AND TRAVEL The daily totals of deaths and hospitalizations, considered lagging indicators, changed little across the country during the last seven days, but increased 55% and 28%, respectively, during the course of December.
At least six states - Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Sweater, New York and Ohio - all set one-day records for new cases this week, according to Reuters tally. In anticipation of even greater flooding in cases requiring medical attention, the Centers for Disease Control Thursday night he reduced his recommended quarantine period https://www.reuters.com/world/us/cdc-cuts-quarantine-time-7-days-healthcare-workers-amid-omicron-surge-2021-12 -23 for COVID -positive health workers who are asymptomatic seven days after 10.
While American people coded for COVID-19 testing https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-testing-struggles-keep-up-with-omicron-2021-12-22 and weighed various public health guidelines on how To collect safely, many were determined to brave the latest wave to enjoy a semblance of Christmas celebrations and traditions. The Transportation Security Administration screened 2,081,297 passengers through the country's airports on Wednesday, an increase of 144,000 over the number of travelers it screened before the pandemic on the same date in 2019.
In-person Christmas services will be held in all churches and parishes of the Roman Catholic Church. Archdiocese from New York, which includes more than 2.5 million worshipers in 10 counties, said spokesman Joseph Zwilling. Although Omicron has not generated new restrictions, the Archdiocese It will uphold the rules on mask use and social distancing that it first instituted last year.
"The existing measures have been working," Zwilling said. us Health officials have said that people who are fully vaccinated should feel comfortable to continue vacation trips and family gatherings. They warned that those who are not vaccinated are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from the virus.
The rapid spread of Omicron will also affect New York iconic New New Year's Eve celebration for the second consecutive year. Mayor Bill de Blasio said attendance for the Times Square midnight ball drop will be capped at 15,000 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-city-scale-down-new-years-eve- celebrations-times-square -2021-12-23, about a quarter of the typical size of the pre-pandemic crowd. Many New Vacation visitors to York planned to limit themselves to much smaller gatherings.
Madeleine Kennedy, ski instructor on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, I fly to New York City Thursday armed with a treasure of COVID-19 test kits as she prepared to spend Christmas with her family in the borough of Queens. It will be a small event this year, and guests will need to take a COVID-19 try before you get together, he said, and with some relatives who are vacationing in Chicago.
"The second time, I think the world is less shocked and I think we will be able to overcome this." Kennedy saying.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
