As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 runs rampant through the country, it has affected the travels of people all over the world.  This proved to be a problem for Camas High School students and their families who planned to travel during winter break.  With the cancellation of flights and the change of CDC guidelines and mandates, traveling during winter break was made difficult and may remain difficult for the foreseeable future.  

One of the effects of Omicron on travel was the cancellation of flights during the holiday season.  Airlines such as Alaska and Delta cancelled many of their flights, and encouraged travelers to cancel their unnecessary flights due in part to Omicron.  The snowy weather  also  factored in cancelling these flights as the snow that the PDX area received over winter break was deemed unsafe to fly in some cases. This combined with the surge of Omicron cases affected travel for CHS students and their families.  

In addition to the students who were unable to travel due to flight cancellations, some were able to travel to their destinations, but were unable to get back due to the rules and regulations regarding travel, or were unable to return to school due to a positive test result upon arrival back home.  This was the case for junior Matthew Chilian who said, “I was affected after the trip [to San Diego] when I got my result back and was positive for COVID.” Chilian and the CHS Basketball participated in a basketball tournament in San Diego over winter break.  Chilian was not the only player that was affected by COVID over winter break as a few other players also tested positive for the virus.  

Junior JP Warnell was also affected by COVID over winter break when he and other members of his family tested positive for the virus after returning home from their vacation in Disneyland.  “When we got back, my mom’s boyfriend and I both got Covid and I had to stay home from school the first week back.”  

Students who travelled outside of the country were hit by the CDC mandate requiring a negative COVID test upon re-entry to the United States.  This posed a problem for students who tested positive, but also caused issues for those who tested negative.  Freshman Austin Fewel said, “We almost missed our flight because we had to wait for the COVID test results to be sent to us.”  The need to receive a negative COVID test within 24 hours before your flight to return to the United States proved to be difficult for travelers as they had to rely on the testing facilities to release the results in time for them to board their flight.  

The increase in cases due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has caused trouble for CHS students and their families while traveling for winter break, and as cases continue to rise and CDC guidelines change, we may see even more flight cancellations that could affect more students in the future.