Americans fume as the pandemic scrambles New Year's Eve celebrations again
SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
The omicron variant is making the New Year's holiday really hard for millions of Americans. As infections surge around the country, celebrations are being canceled. Air travel is upended. College football games are being scrubbed. Even in Florida, a state that tried to go full steam ahead through much of the pandemic, the Miami Hurricanes had to pull out of a football game, and a production of "The Nutcracker" was canceled.
NPR's Brian Mann joins us now to take stock of it all. Hey, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning, Sarah.
MCCAMMON: You've been talking with people about how they're navigating this New Year's Eve and holiday weekend amid this variant. How are they feeling?
MANN: You know, a lot of Americans are bummed, and I think even seriously bummed is a fair way to describe it. People told me they tried to get through Hanukkah and Christmas with good cheer and a kind of stiff upper lip, but a lot of that has turned to gritted teeth and impatience and, also in some cases, real sadness and loneliness. Here's Pam Mandel, a writer who lives in Seattle.
PAM MANDEL: My cousin was supposed to arrive, but that is actually no longer happening. She called me from Indiana and said, my flight's been canceled. I'm driving back home to New Jersey.
MANN: Pam told me she lives alone. And when we spoke, she'd just gotten the news that she would be by herself again on New Year's Eve, and she admitted feeling kind of rattled.
MANDEL: Well, I have to tell you I laughed because it was so weirdly predictable, given how bad things have been.
MANN: Pam says she wanted to be a good sport about all this, but she was really looking forward to this New Year's Eve as a time to pivot. You know, the stakes are higher as people look for some kind of marker between this hard 2021 that we've all just gone through and what she hopes will be a better year. And so with this holiday upended, Pam says she's letting herself experience anger.
MANDEL: We're afraid to have feelings about what's happening right now, and that seems really unhealthy. We're navigating this incredibly difficult experience, and then everybody's sort of sitting at home quietly by themselves. And I feel often like I would like to scream about it (laughter).
MANN: One of the weird things about talking to people is that a lot of them feel lonely and isolated when they're actually sharing the same experience.
LALA TANMOY DAS: We are probably just going to be at home (laughter) - suboptimal, but here we are.
MANN: That's Lala Tanmoy Das, who lives in New York City with his husband, Eric. They both work in health care and told me they're incredibly burned out. So they took some time off this year and made plans for a really fun New Year's Eve - a big party in Philadelphia - and a wedding for the next day. Then, this week, they tested positive for COVID.
DAS: It's sad. I mean, I think we wanted to be with our friends. We wanted to have a celebratory occasion for their wedding, but also for the new year. And yeah, so all of that is canceled. The couple also ended up postponing their wedding because so many people have tested positive from their guest list.
MANN: And I found it's not just individuals who've had their New Year's Eve scrambled by this virus. It's whole communities. I was in a beautiful little mountain village in upstate New York this week, Saranac Lake, that holds a New Year's festival every year.
SUSAN PATTERSON: We have a couple hundred people that go. It's usually pretty crowded.
MANN: That's Susan Patterson, who's helped organize the New Year's celebration in this small town for the last 16 years. They had to cancel last year, and now they've canceled again. And she said the decision was painful for people. You know, winters are long here, and this New Year's Eve is usually a bright spot when people come together.
PATTERSON: It is an important part, yes. And I'm sort of afraid, after two years of not doing, we're going to kind of lose the momentum, the excitement.
MANN: Susan told me this was also an important thing for her. Organizing this townwide party is her way of connecting and celebrating. So I asked what she'll do now for New Year's Eve.
PATTERSON: (Laughter) I don't know (laughter). Nothing (laughter).
MANN: And I heard from a lot of people like that, Sarah. Musicians, people who operate concert venues and theaters - they've all had their big nights canceled.
MCCAMMON: Yeah, Brian, I think a lot of people will recognize that sort of accumulated sense of burnout and repeated disappointment. Is there any advice or guidance for people who are feeling this right now?
MANN: Yeah. You know, we talked to Magdalena Bak-Maier. She's a neuroscientist and wellness coach. And she said this is an important time to reach out to other people, make connections. And she also said it's important to focus on treating yourself as well as possible right now without sort of worrying about the big picture.
MAGDALENA BAK-MAIER: I would invite people to really think about - how do you construct the next 24 hours? How do you plan to make sure that you have some things you can look forward to? And begin to take that control back and really thinking about how you look after yourself.
MANN: It's important, Sarah, to say this isn't affecting everyone the same. I spoke to young people who've had, you know, New Year's Eve big parties canceled. But they're still trying to get out, still trying to organize smaller house parties with friends.
MCCAMMON: And so what is the public health guidance for people of any age who've decided they do want to gather and celebrate despite the risk of omicron?
MANN: You know, obviously, the first step, as we've been hearing, is to be vaccinated and boosted. Wear good masks. Also, people are advising a lot of communication with hosts and other guests. New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, talked about this during one of her briefings this week.
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KATHY HOCHUL: Possibly stay outdoors. It's a little chilly, especially upstate New York, but it'll be worth it when you have a chance to be together with your loved ones and friends this time again next year. So talk to all your hosts and your friends and everybody. And if you're sniffling, if you're not feeling good, just stay home. Watch the ball drop on television, get a nice glass of Champagne, and know that you're doing the smart thing. So our New Year's resolution is we'll get through this winter surge together.
MANN: And as we've been hearing, Sarah, New York City has scaled back that ball-drop celebration in Times Square this year. It will still happen with a smaller crowd and masks, even outdoors. But even with these precautions, public health officials expect another surge of omicron cases after these holiday gatherings.
MCCAMMON: NPR's Brian Mann. Thanks, Brian, and happy New Year.
MANN: To you as well, Sarah.
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