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Officials concerned about safety for travelers, residents in area as COVID cases rise

There were long lines at Mills Pond Park in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, where testing had to be closed to accommodate those who were already in line.

The demand for testing continued to grow in the area as cases of COVID-19 surged throughout the state.

“The mandates have worked, but there is still some very strong holdouts that would rather get tested then go for the vaccine,” said Dr. Robert Goldzer, chief medical officer at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Passengers of Carnival Freedom and Royal Caribbean told Local 10 that there were outbreaks on their ships.

A passenger on the Carnival Freedom said some of the floors on the cruise were used as quarantine floors, where COVID-positive passengers were kept.

The airline industry is also seeing surges in COVID cases, which are leaving them short-staffed.

According to FlightAware, over 1,500 flights were cancelled nationwide on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

More than 1,000 flights were cancelled on Sunday and at least 100 are cancelled for Monday.

“No airline wants to cancel your flight,” said Henry Harteveldt, a hotel and travel industry analyst. “They do that as a last resort.”

The highly mutated and dominant omicron variant is worrying others besides health officials.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said he wishes local governments could do more to slow down the spread.

“I wish in my state we were allowed to do more,” he said. “I wish we could mandate vaccinations.”


About the Author
Joseph Ojo headshot

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.

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