Omicron is the name of the grinch that stole the 2021 holiday season.
The new Coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa is wreaking havoc worldwide and affecting the holiday season in ways nobody expected, two years after the discovery of Covid-19.
Several airlines have delayed or canceled flights because they do not have enough employees to staff the planes. Some families changed travel plans for fear of contracting or spreading the virus to their loved ones.
There is no lockdown, but it feels as if we’re in one, or at least headed there, thanks to the spread of the Omicron, the latest Coronavirus variant that’s crippling the world.
NOT SO CHRISTMASSY IN KENYA THIS YEAR
“I’ve never seen a Christmas like this in my life,” said Jefferson Gichaba, who owns a photo studio and cyber at Kemera, Kisii.” “It is almost 4 pm, and I have only had three customers for a photoshoot. Interestingly, they were all adults, no youth yet.”
In Kenya, Christmas holiday festivities were muted.
Unlike past years, this year’s Friday 24th had few activities. The busyness and rush that usually marks Christmas eve was conspicuously lacking, especially in the rural areas of Kisii- South Western Kenya’s world-famous banana producer.
City dwellers arrived in smaller numbers, unlike before, and they attracted little to no attention, even with the town mannerisms that usually win them admiration and disdain in similar proportions. The village dwellers, too, had nothing much that added fun to Christmas.
“Children just came from school a few days ago. They are going back next week to start a new term. That means money for school fees and other shopping. Usually, we can’t afford to throw parties this time around,” said Agnes Mokeira.
Local photo studios were largely empty on Friday through Sunday. Even children were not in their characteristic celebratory mood in the countryside and towns. Youngsters usually don new clothes, Sunday best- a preserve set aside to mark Christmas, just wore their regular clothes. Nothing special.
Usually, they could wear matching outfits and walk to and from peri-urban areas. This time, the streets were almost clear of human traffic until late evening.
“I’ve never seen a Christmas like this in my life,” said Jefferson Gichaba, who owns a photo studio and cyber at Kemera, Kisii.” “It is almost 4 pm, and I have only had three customers for a photoshoot. Interestingly, they were all adults, no youth yet.”
Gichaba said that on other Christmas holidays, he gets so busy that he is forced to hire a helping hand to help serve the many young people who flock to his studios to capture memories. He blamed Covid-19.
“The pandemic disoriented the school calendar, made jobs hard to find, and money got scarce even more. That’s why few people can now afford to come for a photo shoot, which has been like a tradition,” he said.
On Christmas day, many of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) faithful attended church for fellowship. Perhaps, it was the best way to pass the celebration with a little bad feeling. Luckily, the weather favored the day, and church activities went well to the end. Kisii is synonymous with rain, and it can rain without notice and rain for as long as the whole day. This time, the gods were sympathetic enough, it seemed.
The country’s major highways experienced increased traffic as early as Thursday, two days before Christmas. At some point, on Friday, the Nakuru-Nairobi highway became too thick and stuck; it attracted the Kenya National Highways Authority’s (KeNHA) attention. It went to press and social media to address the increased traffic and urged the road users to practice patience and care.
“Motorists plying or planning to use the Nairobi – Nakuru Highway are informed of unusually high traffic along the highway as people travel for the festive season. To enable better traffic flow, motorists are advised to exercise road courtesy and are further urged to exercise discipline by avoiding overlapping,” the Authority’s statement read.
Ironically, the roads were full, even with the fact that a good number of town dwellers lacked vehicles to ferry them home. Fares doubled and tripled in some areas, but passengers who were desperate to get home were still willing to pay the cost. And vehicles were less.
For example, on regular days, the bus fare from Nairobi to Kisii is at Ksh 1000, but this time it was at an average of Ksh 2500. Naomi Moraa lacked a vehicle and had to reschedule her journey.
“I had hoped to get out of Nairobi by Friday, but I didn’t find any empty public-serving vehicle at the stage. I had to book my journey on Monday, two days after Christmas instead,” Moraa said.
On Christmas eve, the roads in Kisii were not spared of the Christmas-induced traffic surge, either. It got so chaotic that at some point, the vehicles couldn’t move, according to a local driver. Towards the evening, Francis Kooli, Kisii County Police Commander, had to come in person and help direct the traffic.
He posted in his Facebook account: Nairobi iliamia Kisii. Walikuja na traffic jam yote but tuka manage (Nairobi migrated to Kisii. They came with all the traffic, but we managed.)
Elsewhere, at Manga, Nyamira County, a pair of close friends who hardly miss a chance to celebrate had a low profile Christmas day out. Sam Ogero and Duncan Okari, recent university graduates, stayed at their homes.
“I work at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH), and I witness how people are affected by Covid-19. I know I am not vaccinated yet, and that’s why I didn’t go to town. It can get very crowded today, and I am not ready to be a Covid-19 statistic,” Ogero said.
Ogero, an accountant at KTRH has been postponing getting vaccinated due to what he called long queues at the facility.
“I get so busy during workdays, and the long queues of people who come to get vaccinated discourage me. However, I can’t dilly-dally any further. This Omicron variant is a bad one. I will get a Johnson and Johnson shot soonest,” he said.
For Okari, it’s the general unwillingness to get vaccinated that’s been holding him back. He has also been living in the shadow of Covid-19 skepticism, but the pandemic struck close to home recently. He got afraid of going out, unvaccinated too.
“I will be very frank with you. I have never believed that coronavirus is real. But in the last two weeks, three of my close friends at work caught it, and they almost died. They narrated the ordeal, and it changed me. Until I get the vaccine, I can’t risk going anywhere anyhow,’ Okari said.
In Machakos, another group of young people had to use the Christmas opportunity to enjoy the company that they had for so long lacked. Benson Wambua, a student at Mombasa University, went home, and they had a family get-together.
“We always meet on Christmas, and this year was no different. Covid or no Covid, we had to have a little good time together,” Wambua said.
Esther Nduta, a health practitioner in Nairobi, was nursing Covid-19 over the Christmas weekend.
“I was feeling so strange. My body was aching all over,” Nduta said. “I couldn’t even eat the foods prepared- I had no appetite at all. I was also mentally tired and didn’t want to hear any noise around me. I’m glad I am better now.”
Nyaboke described this year’s Christmas as boring.
“My kids insisted that they go see their grandparents at home. I had to release them, and I have had the longest boring period. I can’t wait for them to return,” she said.
“I will be very frank with you. I have never believed that coronavirus is real. But in the last two weeks, three of my close friends at work caught it, and they almost died. They narrated the ordeal, and it changed me. Until I get the vaccine, I can’t risk going anywhere anyhow,’ Okari said.
CHRISTMAS FOR SOME KENYANS IN THE DIASPORA
Thousands of miles away in Chandler, Arizona, in the United States, Abiuth Maronga spent the better part of the day calling his relatives in Kenya.
“I called my friends and relatives in Kenya, and we had lengthy calls. We had quality time connecting with each other,” Maronga said.
Unlike his relatives in Kenya, Maronga didn’t throw a feast to mark Christmas.
“I took the regular food that I normally take. I also prepared a banana and mango smoothie. That was fantastic,” he said.
He said people avoided meeting physically unnecessarily in the US due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Here, you don’t just go visiting people without an appointment. Besides, the Omicron variant is rife. However, we made up for the lack of physical interactions with online get-togethers,” he said.
Unlike Maronga, who stayed home, Jeremiah Ontiri traveled to Kenya with his family from Arlington, Texas.
“We usually connect with family and friends in Kenya over the phone and on the internet, but there is some magic that comes with meeting them physically. That’s why we had to come here and for a month with them,” Ontiri said.
Ontiri had a near Obama moment when he arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“I arrived at the airport and found that one of my bags was musing. I stayed in Nairobi for a week trying to locate it, but I didn’t succeed. I’m still following on that matter,” he said.
He suspects that the mishap happened when he changed flights in one of the US airports before heading to Kenya. There was a handover between American Airlines and Qatar Airways at some point.
When Barrack Obama visited Kenya in 1987, he misplaced his luggage at the airport and got lost. He would later joke as he narrated the story on his 2015 to Kenya as the US President, the world’s sole superpower. What a contrast?
Ontiri, the Texas-based Abagusii Global Radio boss, said that he spent his Christmas weekend in church and catching up with old friends.
“For us, there was little eating and festivities. Instead, time with old-time friends, schoolmates, and church members took it all, and we enjoyed it absolutely,” he said.
However, he was disturbed by the behavior of Kenyans on the roads and with regards to Covid-19.
“Here in Kisii, the roads are poorly marked. There are no designated zebra crossing areas, and people cross anywhere. Nairobi is well marked, but Kisii is very different. It’s scary,” he said.
“The bodaboda guys are also very careless on the roads, and you can easily hit them, or they hit you. To avoid such a scenario, my brother has been driving me around. At least he knows how to maneuver such situations,” he said.
About Covid-19, he also drew a stark contrast between the US and Kenya.
“I got Covid-19 last year in October, and I was down for twenty days. I thought I was dying because I could hardly breathe. I am vaccinated, but I still am very careful. But folks here don’t care. Very few people put on masks, and those who do, don’t even cover their noses. It is very risky,” Ontiri said.
While others were rushing to their homes, Nyambura Macharia took a leave from work in Mombasa and went on a Coastal safari in Malindi and Mpeketoni in Lamu County.
“I had expected to attend a church youth seminar in Tana River, but it flopped. I had to look for a place to go and have some fun. After all, I had been given my leave, and I didn’t want to stay indoors. The plot where I live is too quiet and deserted. People have traveled home,” she said.