Sabrina Almeida
Omicron dictates that this year’s holiday season is going to be another quiet one. Santa will continue to work from home like many Canadians. Given that his job involves mingling with children (who will not be fully immunized) and people from different households, our beloved senior must stay safely ensconced in his North Pole residence and make virtual visits only. Not a terribly exciting idea for him or the kids, but the safest for all involved.
Despite the great strides made with regard to vaccinations, holiday celebrations cannot go back to pre-COVID-19 times. Even though many of us were hoping for a partial return to normal this year, Omicron has thrown a giant curveball at our Christmas and New Year plans.
Provincial and federal modeling data suggests that daily case counts would have risen significantly even without the new variant. It’s simply that time of the year!!! The winter shift to indoor activities was expected to bump up infections anyway. When combined with holiday celebrations (which have proven potential to be super spreaders) the situation was already poised to spiral out of control. Omicron has simply taken away any doubt of it happening by increasing the risk a hundred fold.
So, we are all being asked to exercise extreme caution when making plans for the holiday season.
That might mean trimming guest lists significantly, even declining a few party invites! Virtual gatherings are on the cards again. As one friend said, there’s always next year to party…
With Omicron strengthening its hold on the province and country, we’re staring down a barrel of restrictions. While current provincial guidelines say we can have 25 guests indoors and 100 outdoors, this too might quickly change. Some smaller cities outside the GTA that are reeling from the rising case numbers have already tightened COVID-19 restrictions. Several others like Toronto and Peel are adopting a wait-and-see approach. No one wants to become the grinch who stole Christmas for the second year in a row. With provincial elections six months away, politicians don’t want to risk becoming unpopular with businesses or the general public. While many businesses might just not survive another lockdown, COVID-19 fatigue could push people to rebel.
But in reality, the writing is on the wall whether politicians call it out or not. There’s a slim chance of us stopping Omicron in its tracks without reimposing some restrictions. That’s common sense!
Meanwhile, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore is urging everyone to do a risk evaluation of their own with regard to holiday activities. It’s a simple what, where and with whom approach. Open air, outdoor events are lower risk than indoor parties. The people we gather indoors should be fully vaccinated, he reminds us. That implies restarting awkward conversations about vaccine status with potential guests. We should also be able to maintain social distancing when meeting with people from different households in an indoor space. Which means not cramming 50 people into the basement for a New Year party. The elderly and people with conditions that place them at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 are also advised to avoid mingling if possible. So, if you have elderly and vulnerable family members, keep them in mind when socializing. Remember COVID-19 can spread among one’s family and friends irrespective of vaccination status.
As WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, vaccines are critical but cannot win the fight against the coronavirus by themselves. We must respect and follow all the other health measures like masking, maintaining social distance and washing our hands. And to that I might add making responsible choices about where we go, whom and how many people we socialize with.
Irrespective of whether capacity limits will be reduced further and lockdowns reimposed, we must pledge to act responsibly for the safety of our loved ones, the larger community, and our health care workers.
This is not the time to party in large numbers!
Winning the battle against Omicron and COVID-19 is really in our hands… and arms. Getting your first and second dose of the vaccine or booster, might be the best gift we can give ourselves and our loved ones this Christmas and New Year.
Have a happy and safe holiday season!
