Western countries ushered in the second Christmas under the shadow of the epidemic.
Before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, Christmas was undoubtedly a happy and peaceful holiday. People shop, hold parties, and get together with their families… But this Christmas is destined to be different.
A pandemic has claimed many lives, caused many social and economic problems such as unemployment, and changed the way people are used to entertainment. People must maintain social distance and reduce travel.
The continued spread of the new crown virus casts a shadow over Christmas. The focus of people’s attention is no longer how to celebrate Christmas happily, but how to spend the holidays safely.
Celebrations affected
The Omi Keron mutant strain that is rapidly spreading around the world is highly contagious, and countries have tightened epidemic prevention measures, causing Christmas celebration plans in some places to fall into chaos.
In Europe, France and Germany have successively issued travel restrictions. Due to the rapid increase in the number of new crown cases in the United Kingdom, France imposed travel restrictions on tourists from the United Kingdom on December 16, and several European countries have also strengthened border controls on tourists from other EU countries.
The Dutch blockade measures can be regarded as the most severe European action against the Omi Keron mutant strain. The country stipulates that shops, bars, gyms, hairdressers and other public places that sell non-essential goods will be closed until at least January 14. The number of family visitors is limited to two, and a maximum of four people during the holiday.
Bethlehem, regarded as the birthplace of Jesus, has attracted thousands of foreign tourists on pilgrimages in previous years. However, as Omi Kejon spread across the world, Israel, which only opened its borders last month, has tightened border controls again and barred all foreigners from entering the country. This allowed Bethlehem to once again usher in the Christmas season without foreign tourists. The bustling Manger Square in the past was particularly deserted, and the hotels that were usually full in December were not full on Christmas Day.
As the number of infections in the UK hit a record high on December 23, local time, Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested vaccinating booster shots as a Christmas gift to relatives.
With the rapid increase in the number of new crown cases in most parts of Europe, many nursing homes in Italy have completely suspended family visits during the Christmas holiday.
The epidemic has also affected the mood of the public. On Christmas Eve, one of the most popular shows on the streaming platform Netflix is ”Unforgivable.” This is a sad story about a murderer who was released from prison and worked hard to get salvation.
Books on identity and slavery are in “New York Times“Ranked among the bestsellers on the bestseller list, and some bad swear words about breaking up and other bad words dominated the streaming music service platform Spotify’s charts, even beating Mariah Carey’s Christmas hit “The Christmas I Want Is You” .
Aviation industry continues to be under pressure
In countries where epidemic prevention and control are not so stringent, people have been allowed to travel across states during the holiday season for the first time in two years. Anthony Fisher, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, said in his Christmas speech: “We have all witnessed the moving scenes of people at the airport (on their way to meet together) months after separation.”
“In such a dark age, Christmas is a ray of light and a ray of hope.”
In the United States, the number of passengers passing through U.S. Transportation Security Administration checkpoints in the 10 days ending December 22 is more than twice the number of flying passengers in the same period in 2020, but this figure is still below 2019 levels.
British surveys show that almost half of Britons plan to visit friends or family during the holiday season.
According to Transport Focus research, most Britons planning to travel this year plan to travel by car, and only 1 in 10 people choose to take public transport.
The British RAC predicts that 4.1 million people will spend the night or driving on British roads on December 23, local time, and this will increase to 5.3 million people on Christmas Eve. However, due to the fact that some people work from home, the number of people during the peak Christmas travel period is still lower than before the epidemic.
Variants and spread of the virus are still very important factors. There are indications that some British people plan to shorten or even cancel the itinerary under the influence of the mutant strain of Omi Keron.
Two major US airlines were also forced to cancel some Christmas Eve flights due to the spread of Ome Keron.
As of the evening of December 23, the United StatesUnited AirlinesThe company has cancelled 112 Christmas Eve flights;Delta AirlinesAbout 90 flights on Christmas Eve were also cancelled.
The American A4A Aviation Association, which lobbies on behalf of all major U.S. airlines, called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten the quarantine period for fully vaccinated individuals, stating that the surge in Omi Keron variants could cause a major disruption in the aviation industry.
However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the White House, said that the Christmas trip will increase the spread of Ome Keron variants, even in the fully vaccinated population.
Consumption continues to be weak
The development of the epidemic is still deeply affecting social and economic activities.
There are more and more signs that the American economy is losing momentum as the Omi Keron mutant strain begins to spread rapidly in parts of the United States.
According to data from OpenTable, an online ordering platform in the United States, in the week ending December 22, the number of people seated in restaurants across the United States fell by 15% compared to the same period in 2019, which was also quite significant compared to late November. Data from the global hotel data and analysis company STR also showed that in the week ending December 18, the hotel occupancy rate in the United States was 53.8%, slightly lower than the previous week’s level.
The rising number of cases has caused many companies to temporarily close, entertainment venues cancel performances, universities have online classes, and companies postpone or cancel plans to reopen.
Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN, has told the staff that, except for those who need to perform work there, all others will work remotely.
Due to the spread of Omi Keron,Ford、UberBoth Google and Google have recently postponed the resumption of work.
A museum at the University of Illinois at Chicago stated that due to the rapid spread of Omi Keron mutant strains, it will be closed for more than a month and will only offer online exhibitions; some of the most popular Broadway shows, including “Hamilton” and “The Lion King.” , Has cancelled performances during the Christmas period; Harvard University said it will start a three-week winter semester online to reduce campus density.
Aneta Markowska, chief economist at Jefferies LLC, said: “We were on track to achieve very strong fourth-quarter consumption, but I now see that momentum continues to weaken.”
The Guardian reported that new data shows that more than 35,000 British retailers and 20,000 bars and restaurants are facing serious financial difficulties. Compared with before the pandemic, it is expected that shoppers will spend in physical stores during the holiday this year. Will be reduced by nearly 1/4.
If fashion, footwear stores, furniture companies and other non-essential goods retailers are allowed to continue to operate from December 26, it is estimated that spending in stores and online that day will be 3.94 billion pounds, which is 10% less than before the pandemic and also compared to last year. To be 1% lower.
Compared with 2019, British consumers’ spending on physical stores is expected to drop by 23%, as many shoppers avoid going to the streets, shopping malls and other places because of concerns about the Omikeron mutant strain.
(Source: International Finance News)
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