By T. Evans
Christmas trees, menorah lights, lovely presents, warm homemade meals, and last but not least Marriah Carrey! It’s December! And everyone’s in the holiday spirit to visit and have visitors from across the world. It’s been no secret that the past few years have been tough, especially with the everlasting presence of our lovely virus, Covid-19, but this year America is finally open to old opportunities to have family and friends over for the holidays! Right? Enter stage center: the newest Covid-19 variant, Omicron.
Omicron variant cases continue to rise since its appearance in the US in New York as of late November. As coronavirus cases rise, the reintroduction of public mandates, pre-arrival testing, and even the option of self-imposed quarantine have come into play across the world as the United States still questions their next move. But now since it’s the holidays, countries such as Israel and Morocco are now imposing travel bans. So far, most European countries allow vaccinated Americans to visit, as well as the other way around. However, countries are free to impose their own restrictions at any time, leaving citizens of the US wondering if we will soon do the same. We are considering all measures, including an all-out travel ban, but a final decision will not be made until just before the season so there is still hope for our loved ones to visit.
This ban would be put into motion in order to curb the spread of the Omicron variant across the US. If we are already planning on preventing visitors from visiting one country, it will not be long until we will once again be on lockdown for traveling. For now, all we can do is keep ourselves posted, wait, and be safe! The Omicron is more fast-moving than the original and Delta variants and can also lead to more cases of reinfection in people who already had Covid-19. Though the symptoms aren’t as dangerous, it’s still worrisome – especially to those with preexisting health conditions involving the lungs such as asthma or bronchitis. As ever, the best protection is to get vaccinated and take advantage of available booster shots.
Categories: Covid-19, News, Science, World News
The Nautilus Navigator 