According to the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), updated on December 14, Omicron “likely will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus” but how easily it spreads compared to the Delta variant remains unknown.
“Despite the increased attention of Omicron, Delta continues to be the main variant circulating in the United States,” the CDC says.
Anyone infected with the Omicron variant can spread the virus to others, even if they’re vaccinated or don’t have symptoms, the federal body warns.
The CDC currently advises people to delay their travels until they’re fully vaccinated. From December 6, all air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, have been required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than a day before travel to the U.S..
And while the ongoing pandemic is no laughing matter, several Twitter users have shared memes titled “My Festive Plans, Omicron” to make light of how they are feeling right now.
1. Heartbroken
User @Tweet_Dec shared one image showing a scene from the film Love Actually featuring Karen (played by Emma Thompson) smiling by a Christmas tree, next to another showing the cover art of the Joni Mitchell album Both Sides Now (which features a woman holding a cigarette in front of a glass of wine).
The post, which received over 6,600 likes at the time of reporting, references the heartbreaking scene in the film where Karen discovers that the necklace she found in her husband’s (Alan Rickman) coat pocket was not for, and that he had gifted her a CD of her favorite artist instead (conveniently shaped like the jewelry box).
2. Fried
User @TomekMoss posted a cheerful-looking Kermit the Frog from The Muppet’s Christmas Carol—a festive feature film starring Michael Cain and based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol—with his son, Tiny Tim. Alongside is a picture of what appears to be a dish of fried frog legs.
3. Trapped
User @joshcarlosjosh shared a Home Alone-themed diptych, with an image of Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin) eating ice cream on the left, and Harry and Marv (the two thieves played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, respectively, who attempt to rob Kevin’s home) looking mischievous on the right.
4. Evil Lurking
User @HelenSimmons8 posted an image of innocent looking Hallie Parker and Annie James (the twins played by Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap film), alongside an image of Meredith Blake (the child-hating publicist played by Elaine Hendrix) with a sinister grin.
5. Caught Off-Guard
Referencing the surprise exit of Mr. Big in the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That…, user @DrJamesJBailey shared and loving image of Mr. Big back-hugging Carrie over a kitchen top, alongside a picture of a Peloton exercise bike, which led to the demise of Mr. Big in the reboot.
6. Devastated
User @doublepikedvt shared an image of a plate of festive cookies, alongside one of a devastated looking Anna from the Frozen animation series, with her head and shoulders crouched over.
7. Blown Away
Writer George Griffiths posted an image of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and the Doctor (David Tennant) from the Doctor Who television series, next to another showing one of them holding on while being blown away during one of the Doctor Who character’s time-traveling moments.
8. Shot Down
User @Hoxy10 shared an image of two characters from Angels with Filthy Souls, a fictional black-and-white gangster film featured in Home Alone, with one character pointing a gun.
