COVID-19 fears dampen hopes for the holiday season — again

This year’s holiday season was supposed to be a do-over for last year’s subdued celebrations. Instead it’s turning into a redux of restrictions, cancellations and rising angst over the never-ending pandemic.

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“This year, more than ever, everyone needed a holiday,” said John McNulty, owner of Thief, a Brooklyn bar that had to close for a day earlier this week because of an infected employee.

As Christmas and New Year’s approach, a pall lingers over the season. Infections are soaring around the world, and the quickly spreading omicron variant has triggered new restrictions on travel and public gatherings reminiscent of the dark days of 2020.

For many, the holiday travel season started Friday, and whether you’re headed out of town or have family coming to visit, safety is a top concern.

AAA projected more than 100 million Americans will travel by plane, train or car this Christmas. And with the highly contagious omicron variant on the rise, expert said the virus could wreak even more havoc in the country in the weeks to come.

Still, your best bet for protection over the holidays is getting vaccinated or, if you already are, get your booster shot.

(WATCH: US COVID-19 death toll tops 800,000)

Channel 9 spoke to Dr. Ryan Shelton with Tryon Medical Partners who said now is the time to be proactive.

“Getting the vaccine is still by far our best defense and if everyone does that in your group, it would keep everyone from getting as sick in case somebody were to accidentally bring delta (which is still our predominant barrier),” Dr. Shelton said. “So hopefully, omicron won’t be enough to really wreck our holidays here.”

So far, vaccines still provide protection against the new variants. The CDC updated its guidance to recommend getting tested before gatherings, even if you are vaccinated.

Long lines at COVID-19 testing sites return as more get sick

As cases have started climbing again in the Carolinas, so has the number of people getting tested for the virus.

The StarMed location in west Charlotte was busy all day Friday, testing people and giving out vaccinations. When Channel 9 arrived Friday morning, the line of cars snaked across the entire parking lot. The lines remained long through the evening.

Most people wanted to get tested because of holiday plans and more importantly, because more people are getting sick. In Gaston County, the number of people seeking COVID-19 tests was up 25% the week of Dec. 12.

John Ahad and his wife were in that group hoping to get tested today. They both tested positive a week before Christmas.

“It’s gonna be very different and much sadder,” Ahad said.

This year was supposed to be their first celebrating Christmas with family and no fear of COVID. They just moved into a new house to entertain guests.

“We had family planned to come in,” Ahad said. “They are already cancelling some of those plans.”

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Both Ahad and his wife are vaccinated. He has had his booster shot. Neither have had COVID before.

“This is a real virus, and we need to do what we can to take care of ourselves,” Ahad said.

Gaston County Public Health Director Steve Easton said thinking of your health and the health of others has to be a priority this Christmas. He told Channel 9 the coronavirus is becoming part of the new normal for everyone.

“It’s about learning to live with this now,” Easton said. “Learning to deal with this in a safe way, because again, COVID is here. It’s not something it appears we are going to eradicate.”

Easton said the numbers are climbing for everyone, including for those who have tested positive before or have been vaccinated. However, he said those who are vaccinated have milder symptoms.

Nationwide, hospitalizations have climbed, but local hospitals are not overwhelmed.

Easton said the best solution now with everyone looking to gather for Christmas is selflessness.

“If you have any type of COVID symptom or if you have been exposed, do not put your family at risk,” he said.

Easton said the big difference between this year and last year is that we have vaccines and boosters. He said get the shot first, then get tested or keep a mask on when you are with family and friends who don’t live with you.

Omicron causes pandemic worries to re-emerge across the nation

The accelerating cancellations seem “to have thrown us back into that sort of zombie world of the first week of March of the pandemic last year,” said Jonathan Neame, the chief executive of Shepherd Neame, Britain’s oldest brewery and chain of pubs.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday that the city would “watch very carefully” whether to press ahead with plans to welcome a fully vaccinated crowd back to Times Square on New Year’s Eve, a celebration that was canceled last year. It’s a go for now, the mayor said.

[ ALSO READ: Behind-the-scenes: UNC Charlotte lab ups COVID variant testing during holidays ]

Many Americans have spent nearly two years on an emotional seesaw as the pandemic worsened and waned in cycles and the hoped-for return to normal was repeatedly pushed back. A recent poll by MTV Entertainment Group and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that nearly half of American adults said the pandemic made it harder to maintain their mental health.

“I think for a large number of people, there was this hopefulness that this holiday season was going to be different. So if you went in with that expectation, and you weren’t adjusting it over the last couple of months, I think you’re going to be all the more disappointed,” said Dr. Vaile Wright, a clinical psychologist who works for the American Psychological Association.

Her advice? “Try to get to a place where the expectation is that this is going to continue on for a while, and if you’re feeling stuck, try to find ways to make your life meaningful right now.”

The world has been on edge over the omicron variant, which could become the dominant strain of coronavirus in weeks in many nations. Adding to that anxiety is the fact that hospitals in many U.S. states are already slammed with patients infected with the delta variant. The military and the National Guard have been enlisted to help at hospitals.

After last winter’s brutal COVID-19 surge forced him to skip his usual Christmas trip home to visit family and friends in the Midwest, Don Carlson booked plane tickets in September. The college administrator in San Francisco figured with vaccinations available and a lower number of infections, the trip to Minneapolis and Nebraska would be fine.

Soon after, hospitals started filing up in the Midwest. Then came the discovery of the omicron variant.

Carlson, 59, couldn’t in good conscience make the trip, so he canceled. He will stay in Northern California and get together with a few vaccinated friends for small dinners around the holiday. He plans to do Zoom calls with the friends and relatives he would have visited.

“It’s disappointing, but what would be far more disappointing is spreading it to an elderly person in your family because you went through airports,” Carlson said. “I think it’s just prudent to stay put.”

April Burns, a bill collector for New York City, said things are far from being back to normal. But she considers the worst to be over.

“Last year, everybody was shut down. At least now, things are open, you know. You can get out more, and you still get to see people,” said Burns, who is unvaccinated and was standing in line Thursday near Wall Street to comply with city rules that require her to be tested weekly.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(WATCH: COVID-19 fears and the rise of the omicron variant)