Fearing omicron variant, holiday revelers curb celebrations
BY KELVIN CHAN and DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Christmas revelers across Europe are lying low, and U.S. officials are intensifying calls for unvaccinated Americans to get inoculated in the face of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. Omicron now threatens to wipe out a second holiday season that many people hoped would bail out pandemic-battered industries. Scotland and Wales on Friday pledged millions of pounds for businesses hurt in Britain’s latest infection surge. Denmark decided to close theaters, concert halls and museums in response to a rise in virus cases. In Spain, friends and classmates canceled traditional year-end dinners. In the United States, President Joe Biden’s administration resisted tightening any restrictions, but also sketched out dire risks for the unvaccinated.