MIAMI — The Omicron variant has turned a season of joy into one of weariness and resentment amid a new coronavirus surge.
With days to go before Christmas, Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Of reworking plans to adapt to the latest virus risks…Of wondering whether, after two years of avoiding Covid-19, or surviving it, or getting vaccinated and maybe even boosted, Omicron is the variant they inevitably catch.
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“I’m mad,” said Mabel De Beunza, a publicist in her early 40s who spent 90 minutes at a drive-through testing line in downtown Miami on Monday after experiencing cold symptoms. No matter what her test result, she has decided against seeing her mother, who is immunocompromised, on Christmas.
“We’ve done so much, and still have this,” said Ms. De Beunza, whose family is vaccinated and boosted. “It’s been such a rough year.”
“They still have to get tested if they get exposed. So what’s the point of this?”—Alyssa Dipirro, 30, was waiting in line for a Covid test in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday.
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Florida, which long ago did away with almost all virus restrictions, is recording an average of 7,068 daily coronavirus cases, a 294 percent increase over the past two weeks…
...winter is Florida’s high season, drawing part-time residents and throngs of visitors. Some attendees reported testing positive for Covid this month after going to events related to the Art Basel Miami Beach fair.
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“All my friends in Miami have Covid right now,” Fabiana Vegas, 21, said on Tuesday as she waited in line to get tested in Orlando. “I wanted to go to Miami this Christmas, and I can’t.”
