Home ›› 28 Dec 2021 ›› World Biz
Holiday travel headaches and safety worries swelled Sunday with thousands of flights cancelled, events scrapped and new Omicron cases soaring, as people wrap up Christmas celebrations bruised by a resurgent Covid-19 pandemic.
Some 8,300 flights have been grounded and tens of thousands more delayed from Friday through Sunday -- one of the busiest travel periods of the year -- with multiple airlines acknowledging that Omicron spikes have prompted staffing shortages.
Effects have rippled worldwide and the hurt was expected to bleed into the work week, with more than 1,100 flights already facing cancellations Monday and almost 300 more on Tuesday, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
The highly transmissible Omicron strain has sent new cases skyrocketing across the globe, with countries reviving dreaded lockdowns, major sports leagues cancelling Boxing Day football and rugby fixtures, and cruise ships returning to port with Covid-infected passengers.
In China's Xi'an city, 13 million residents were confined to their homes Sunday amid tightened restrictions, as the country recorded its biggest Covid-19 infection numbers in 21 months.
Desperate to keep a lid on outbreaks before February's Beijing Winter Olympics, China has implemented a vigilant "zero-Covid" strategy, involving tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns. But there have been sporadic flare-ups. Governments worldwide are also scrambling to boost testing and vaccinations.
In the United States, top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci warned of a Covid "testing problem" and vowed to make more tests available next month, as the virus overwhelms the nation.
"There are still some issues now of people having trouble getting tested," Fauci told ABC News on Sunday.
"But we're addressing the testing problem," he added, saying it should be corrected "very soon."
Still, cases have soared. New York's health department said Covid pediatric hospitalizations have risen four-fold over the past two weeks as Omicron took hold.
'Petri dish'
In Florida, health officials said new Covid cases spiked to 125,201 for the week ending December 23, four times its previous week's total.
The state is a global hub for the cruise industry and US health authorities said dozens of ships were being monitored for possible infection after at least two vessels recorded Covid outbreaks in recent days, despite taking comprehensive measures regarding vaccinations.
The Washington Post reported that several ships including the Carnival Freedom -- whose parent company confirmed to AFP Sunday that a "small number" of passengers tested positive onboard -- were denied port in the Caribbean.
