New Delhi: The global spike in Covid-19 cases including the new variant Omicron has led to the cancellation of around 11,500 flights worldwide and tens of thousands delayed since Friday.
The cancellations and delays have resulted in major chaos around the Christmas and New Year Holidays. Covid-19 cases are seeing a marked increase in Europe and several states of the USA.
Effects rippled worldwide, with about 3,000 flights already cancelled on Monday and 1,100 more on Tuesday, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decreased the isolation period for asymptomatic Covid-19 cases from 10 to five days to prevent any major disruption and avoid any mass labour shortages in the companies as people return from holidays.
Cases may touch record high in the United States in January given there is still a large number of people unvaccinated in the country.
The United States is closing in on the daily high of 2.5 lakh cases recorded last January. More than 816,000 people lost their lives to the pandemic.
Saying some hospitals could be "overrun", President Joe Biden claimed overall the country was "well prepared to meet the latest surge" and Americans "need not panic."
In a virtual meeting with state governors and top health advisors, Biden stressed that the rapid spread of Omicron would not have the same impact as the initial outbreak of Covid-19 or the Delta variant surge this year.
"Omicron is a source of concern, but it should not be a source of panic," he said.
Read: Omicron Scare: Health Minister Mandaviya reviews Covid testing facilities at IGI airport Delhi
