The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 130 (630)

Christmas decorating is underway. A couple of cards are hung from the mantle along with a "LET*IT*SNOW" banner. The tree (artificial) is up with the tree skirt positioned beneath it. The next step is for The Professor to check the strings of lights. Once the lights are up on the tree, the ornaments go on. The Christmas Ape will go atop the tree in the morning; Son #1, being the tallest person in the family, traditionally positions Christmas Ape. I cannot remember when the Christmas Ape displaced a star atop the tree, but it was probably about 30 years ago. If I remember, I'll include a photo of Christmas Ape in tomorrow's post.

Now, back to the not-so-novel-any-longer coronavirus. Sir Jeremy Farrar, one of Britain's most senior scientific officials, said that Omicron shows we are "closer to the start of the pandemic than the end." He went on the add, "The longer this virus continues to spread in largely unvaccinated populations globally, the more likely it is that a variant that can overcome our vaccines and treatments will emerge. If that happens, we could be close to square one."

Britain is considered a leader in genomic sequencing and testing and has detected about 160 cases of Omicron. Travel restrictions are being tightened. Everyone must be tested within 48 hours of travel to Britain, even those who are fully vaccinated. Right now, travelers need to self-isolate and test on the second day after arriving. If the test is negative, travelers may leave isolation. It it is positive, the traveler must isolate until a test is negative. 

Over 40,000 people gathered in Vienna to protest the tightened restrictions in Austria. There were about 1,500 counter-protesters. The opposition to mask and vaccination mandates is led by the far-right Freedom Party, the third largest group in Parliament. Members tend to back conspiracy theories and treatments such as ivermectin. Several protesters wore t-shirts proclaiming "Make Austria Great Again." Bring back any memories here?

After many travelers canceled trips, Switzerland dropped the 10-day quarantine requirement it had instituted. It has been replaced with a test before entering the country and another between four and seven days after arrival. A traveler arriving from a risky region must prove that they are fully vaccinated. Proof of vaccination is required to enter public establishments; masks are required for all indoor public events. 

Finally on the European front, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands tested positive and is isolating. The now 83-year-old queen held the throne from 1980 to 2013 before turning it over to her son King Willem-Alexander. The queen was something of a neighbor the year we lived in the Netherlands. We lived in a small town about 18 kilometres outside Amsterdam, and the palace was within easy walking distance of our house. Many a morning or afternoon, I pushed a stroller past the palace while the inhabitant of the stroller napped.

Here at home, it is getting harder to get vaccine or a booster. Expanded eligibility and fear of Omicron have upped demand. In October an average of less than one million doses per day was being administered. Now, that average is about 1.5 million. Many drugstores are using an appointment system as they did at the start of immunization. This is not a bad thing.

The Minnesota man who was one of the first Omicron cases identified in the US went to a New York City anime convention with about 30 people, half of whom later tested positive. It is not clear if they also had the Omicron variant. The governor of Connecticut said that the first Omicron case there had a relative who had attended the same convention. 

We will again get together only with close family this Christmas. I understand that many people feel safe flying or otherwise traveling. I'm not ready to do that. The one trip I have planned, to a quilt show in Hampton, Virginia, in late February is now dependent on what Omicron or its yet-to-arrive cousin might throw at us. Everything is subject to change, and right now everything is going as scheduled.