The World Health Organization has urged people to cancel some of the holiday plans in order to protect public health at large amid the rising spread of the Omicron variant worldwide.

WHO chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said "An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled." He further stated that tough decisions have to be made.

Several countries have acted to check the spread of the variant and have imposed travel restrictions.

The United States’ top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, had also cautioned that Christmas travel would enhance the spread of the new variant, even among the fully vaccinated individuals.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that they needed to reserve the probability of introducing new rules in England as cases of the Omicron variant increased… (BBC, December 21, 2021)