More than 700 flights entering, leaving or flying within the U.S. were called off Sunday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. That figure was down from nearly 1,000 on Saturday.
NEWARK, N.J. — The latest COVID-19 variant is upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers — but it didn’t do much damage to holiday shopping.
Omicron is likely to slow the economy’s unexpectedly strong rebound from last year’s coronavirus recession, disrupting travel and likely discouraging some consumers from venturing out to shops, restaurants and bars. The variant could also add more heat to already simmering inflation by forcing shutdowns of factories and ports, delaying shipments and driving up prices.
A family, wearing matching pajama bottoms, walks through Terminal A at Orlando International Airport on Christmas Day, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. The family was catching a flight to Arizona.Globally, airlines scrapped about 2,200 flights as of Sunday morning, down from more than 2,800 cancellations the day before, FlightAware’s data showed. The site does not say why flights are canceled.
Despite omicron, American consumers appeared undaunted. Mastercard Spending Pulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards, reported Sunday that holiday sales had risen 8.5% from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain in 17 years. Mastercard SpendingPulse had expected a 7.4% increase.
Demand for tests has risen amid the surge fueled by the omicron variant. “We’ve obviously got to do better,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said an interview that aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” There are still many questions about how bad the omicron variant surge will be in the U.S., Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialist Dr. Amesh Adalja said Sunday.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ohio reports two-day total of 20,917 COVID-19 cases: coronavirus update for Sunday, Dec. 26The Ohio Department of Health on Sunday reported 20,917 new coronavirus cases, a two-day tally encompassing Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Read more »
Omicron keeps some families apart for Christmas; thousands more flights canceled: COVID-19 updatesAmericans across the country celebrated Christmas on Saturday – many with empty chairs at dinner tables – amid mounting concerns from the quickly spreading omicron variant.
Read more »
Roche says at-home COVID-19 rapid test gets ok from FDARoche said on Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to its COVID-19 at-home rapid test that can be used by people as young as 14.
Read more »
A Timely Reminder Of The Different Ways Disabled People Are Processing Covid-19Now is a good time for another recap of disabled people’s main concerns and “takes” on Covid-19.
Read more »
CDC shortens isolation time for health care workers with Covid-19The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is shortening the isolation time for health care workers who test positive for Covid-19, as it anticipates a surge in hospitalizations due to the Omicron variant.
Read more »
US Navy Warship Sidelined With COVID-19 OutbreakThe U.S. Navy says one of its warships has paused its deployment to South America because of a coronavirus outbreak.
Read more »