Not leaving Las Vegas

"Omicron is coming!" predicted a friend yesterday, and then reported how people he knew in Vegas had spotted the airport there in a state of near total idleness, plane after plane grounded by a lack of healthy crew members. 

So, it might not be coming from Vegas, at least. 

Two inbound flights of significance were listed as cancelled yesterday at Aurora International: the United flight from Houston and the Copa flight from Panama City. Several others were delayed. 

When I passed through the airport just a few days ago the temperature-checking machine had been unplugged and parked in a corner. 

It would seem that some sort of testing requirement for non-resident foreigners will be re-imposed from January 10 but this will be way too late and possibly still not enough. 

I'm becoming quite a fan of these little TAG jets, but on this occasion many of my fellow passengers were the Guatemalan equivalent of braying public schoolboys, and at least one of them did little more than cough from the moment we were seated. 

Presumably they all had travel-ready, fully-vaccinated status (i.e. not Sputnik V), but were able to enter then without an antigen test and the new rules appear not to change that. 

These are the new positive results that have been officially reported here over the past few days...

26th: 39 new cases

27th: 91 new cases

28th: 597 new cases

29th: 829 new cases...

There's an all too obvious progression that should see us past 2000 by the New Year. 

It's hard not to see Guatemala as a bit of a sitting duck right now — especially after that report suggesting the Russian vaccine produces a zero antibody response to the new variant*. And Delta has not exactly withered on the vine. 

There has been nothing like a word of caution about New Year's Eve aglomeraciones from Dr G or anyone else in the government. Antros with indoor dancefloors in La Antigua — La Casbah and La Sala — to name just a couple, would seem to present near perfect super-spreader environments. 

Omicron is undoubtedly a bit different. 

Wales has exercised comparative caution and shut down its clubs for the 31st (...so they're all off to Chester), but has also reduced the self-isolation period from ten to seven days reflecting the sheer number of asymptomatic cases. Nevertheless, hospitalisations have risen in the principality by 49% over the past week, and early data suggests a worrying surge in more severe illness in children. 

In the lead up to Christmas the total number of new cases in the UK had risen to a point where they were significantly more than half of the total in the whole of the US. Both nations were starting to run low on tests. The US has now pushed on impressively, achieving a world record of 465,670 daily positives yesterday. (The UK managed a just-below-PB 183,037.) 

I am feeling increasingly pleased with myself for getting my booster (Pfizer) at what may turn out to be just the right moment. 

But this will continue to be a period to exercise caution. 

Right now Omicron might be staying in Vegas, but these things do tend to get out eventually. 

* Handily the Ruskies have just now delivered the final batch of potentially useless jabs that were paid for ages ago. They at least continue to insist that their vaccine is 'robust' against Omicron, and you would not want to argue with them, would you?