Record-breaking COVID cases frustrate travelers, drive hunt for tests

For the second time in a week, Florida has broken a record for daily COVID-19 cases, with nearly 33,000 being reported from Friday.

The highly mutated and dominant omicron variant led to long testing lines in South Florida on Christmas morning.

Omicron is taking a toll on the airline industry as well, with dozens of flights canceled due to airlines such as Delta, JetBlue and others being short-staffed.

ā€œYeah, itā€™s frustrating,ā€ said Oscar Cardozo, whose flight was canceled. ā€œYes of course, because we are stuck here we canā€™t travel.ā€

Benjamin Alaimo got back from a cruise earlier this month and has tested positive for COVID-19.

Alaimo was on the Symphony of the Seas and was hoping to spend time with family before his positive test. The boat he was on had nearly 50 positive cases.

ā€œI just wish the cruise line wouldā€™ve informed us so we couldā€™ve made better decisions about not going to the theatre or at least wearing our masks at all times,ā€ Alaimo said. ā€œSo Iā€™ve driven all the way to Connecticut and I canā€™t spend Christmas with my father.ā€


About the Author:

Joseph Ojo joined Local 10 in April 2021. Born and raised in New York City, he previously worked in Buffalo, North Dakota, Fort Myers and Baltimore.