Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Americans are tired of COVID and don't want another round of cancellations, but they're happening anyway.
Why it matters: Omicron is spreading so fast that it's forcing officials' hands, and scrambling Americans' plans just two weeks after an Axios-Ipsos poll found that most weren't interested in upending their lives to avoid the new variant.
- "This virus is extraordinary. It has a doubling time of anywhere from two to three days," NIAID director Anthony Fauci told Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.
- President Biden plans to deliver remarks Tuesday on the status of the fight against COVID, including new steps the administration will be taking to help communities in need of assistance, a White House official told Axios.
- "The President will also issue a stark warning of what the winter will look like for Americans that choose to remain unvaccinated," the official said.
State of play: Professional sports teams and entertainment venues, as well as corporations and schools, have all announced cancellations and closures in recent days.
- The NBA rescheduled five more games over the weekend after the NHL and NFL rescheduled several games last week.
- Radio City Music Hall canceled the Rockettes' remaining Christmas shows and iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball Concert in Miami was scrapped — just two major examples of a flurry of live entertainment halted in cities across the U.S.
- After Omicron derailed many company end-of-the-year parties, many are giving up on return to work altogether right now, Axios' Erica Pandey writes. Businesses like restaurants have already begun to feel Omicron's painful effects, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- Schools around the country — including in New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Missouri — shifted to virtual learning in the days leading up to their holiday breaks, Insider reported.
Between the lines: As Americans prepare for their holiday plans, they are running into difficulty finding rapid COVID tests amid surging case rates, causing some to rethink their gatherings, the Washington Post writes.
- The shortage was pretty obvious to anyone who tried to find rapid tests on pharmacy shelves this weekend — or even if they tried to order them. The CVS site declared that BinaxNOW, a common antigen self-test, is "out of stock online."
- "Testing shouldn't be just the gold ring at the end of an obstacle course," said Adriane Casalotti of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, per the Post.
The big picture: The closures and cancellations are also widespread overseas.
- The Netherlands reimposed a strict lockdown and the U.K. is keeping the door open to similar measures, CNN reported, while Paris canceled its New Year's Eve fireworks.
What to watch: Whether Americans start canceling their holiday travel plans, and whether Biden offers any steps that can help get ahead of the coming wave of cases — including addressing the shortage of rapid tests.
- And, sadly, whether the rise in Omicron cases will start leading to more hospitalizations and deaths — and whether our health care system can stand the strain.