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canyonwalkerEver since news came out late last week of a new Coronavirus strain there have been reactions... and overreactions... and WTF reactions. The Omicron strain, which was originally the Nu strain but renamed because people would mistake the Greek letter Nu for the word "new", seems to have originated in countries in Southern African. It has already spread to numerous other countries.
Countries including the US have reacted swiftly to Omicron's emergence. Travel from several African countries has been banned. Austria has gone back into lockdown. Some point to Austria's decision to go back into lockdown as either overreaction or evidence that the new strain is dangerous. The thing is, Austria planned this return to stay-home policies weeks ago, based on a resurgence of Delta. Still, it's important not to overreact. There's not enough information yet to determine if Omicron is more contagious or hard-hitting than other strains, particularly Delta, or if it evades antibodies created by existing vaccines.
Alas overreaction right now is in plentiful supply. The stock market's global swoon on Friday is one example. The market's been mixed today but continues to be choppy, evidence that traders are rushing to react to every bit of news that drips in.
Along with overreaction there's... wtf-action. When there's a new strain of the virus popping up it would be prudent to hold back a bit on travel. But every travel company I've ever done business with is bombarding me with Cyber Monday sales. I know, it's not cause-and-effect; companies planned their sales weeks ago. But there's definitely poor timing to the roll out.
Countries including the US have reacted swiftly to Omicron's emergence. Travel from several African countries has been banned. Austria has gone back into lockdown. Some point to Austria's decision to go back into lockdown as either overreaction or evidence that the new strain is dangerous. The thing is, Austria planned this return to stay-home policies weeks ago, based on a resurgence of Delta. Still, it's important not to overreact. There's not enough information yet to determine if Omicron is more contagious or hard-hitting than other strains, particularly Delta, or if it evades antibodies created by existing vaccines.
Alas overreaction right now is in plentiful supply. The stock market's global swoon on Friday is one example. The market's been mixed today but continues to be choppy, evidence that traders are rushing to react to every bit of news that drips in.
Along with overreaction there's... wtf-action. When there's a new strain of the virus popping up it would be prudent to hold back a bit on travel. But every travel company I've ever done business with is bombarding me with Cyber Monday sales. I know, it's not cause-and-effect; companies planned their sales weeks ago. But there's definitely poor timing to the roll out.
