Free Republic

Two thousand flights have been canceled Christmas Eve in relation to the omicron variant, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. As President Biden promised to “shut down the virus” during the 2020 presidential campaign, nearly a year later omicron is impacting airlines’ ability to transport Christmas travelers in a timely fashion. FlightAware shows about 1,175 flights have already been canceled for Saturday, Christmas Day. United Airlines told the Wall Street Journal that flight crews and operational employees are in short supply due to omicron exposure. “The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight...

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi stated that while COVID cases and test positivity have seen steep increases, “we have not seen the same thing with respect to the markers of severe disease, particularly hospitalizations.” And hospitals are currently in “a solid position” with hospitalizations well below the peaks from the spring of 2020 and last winter. Chokshi said, “We’ve seen cases and test positivity increase sharply, but, as yet, we have not seen the same thing with respect to the markers of severe disease, particularly hospitalizations. Right now, there are...

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday urged every New Yorker to again wear masks in all indoor public places as city health officials prepared for the imminent arrival of the Omicron variant. “It’s time to remind people and double down and say, ‘Even if you started to move away from masks before, we’re telling you to get those masks back on now,’ ” de Blasio said at a remote press briefing from City Hall. City Health Commissioner David Chokshi said the advisory covers even fully vaccinated people and those who have had the virus. “Today I’m issuing a commissioner’s advisory...

WUHAN—Thousands gathered outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology with faces of anxious anticipation over the weekend, as rumors had been circulating that a new COVID-19 variant would soon be named. The hopeful pilgrims' hours of waiting were not in vain. Cheers erupted as white smoke began pouring out of the chimney early Sunday morning, signaling the creation and naming of a new COVID-19 variant. "It was a lively debate," said one source from inside the Wuhan lab. "Yuhang suggested we just keep following the Greek alphabet and name it Xi. We haven't heard from him in a few days, come...

VIDEOIt was inevitable that Dr. Gain Of Function aka Anthony Fauci as well as the usual suspects would hype the Omicron variant to urge yet more government actions. However, we've all heard that line many times before so, as a result, healthy skepticism of yet another variant being hyped yet again has set in.