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The rise of the Omicron variant heralded on Friday another pandemic-tinged Christmas for billions, with Santa’s arrival and longed-for family reunions overshadowed by the prospect of yet more Covid restrictions.
Festive jokes about reindeer having “herd immunity” and millions isolating “Home Alone” may be wearing thin, but the emergence of the ultra-infectious Omicron variant means the pandemic is not going anywhere.
For the second year, surging infections have complicated yuletide plans from Sydney to Seville.
In Bethlehem — the Israeli-occupied Palestinian city Christians believe was Jesus’ birthplace — hoteliers expecting an influx of tourists have been disappointed. After a near-total lockdown last year, Israel’s borders are again closed.
Just several hundred huddled under a grey sky in the city’s Manger Square to watch the Palestinian scouts and bagpipers parade past.
Under heavy police escort, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, arrived at the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where the faithful believe Christ was born.
But this year, like last, midnight mass on Christmas Eve will be reserved for just a small circle of people by invitation only and celebrations on Friday were subdued.
Covid-19 fears overshadow celebrations in Bethlehem
“It is a bit surreal,” American student Hudson Harder told AFP.
“There is a selfish part where it’s like ‘Oh I get to see this place so empty’ but on the other hand you feel for the shops, all the money they are losing, it’s really quite tragic.”
‘Sliver of…
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Source : france24
