I'm so sorry, @downandlonely - but it is probably best not to risk traveling with possible bans and then being stranded, as well as getting ill, too. But it's tough missing family. I don't really have close family, but there are a few family members who seem safe enough to know. They're in California though, and it's too risky for me to go there. I thought we had a handle on things until this new variant came out. And the news recently reported that it's already here in the U.S., with a traveler who returned from South American in late November having contracted Omicron variant of Covid-19 and is currently told to quarantine while they do contact tracing. By the time we hear this news, it's already spread to a few other surrounding states and locally within California. That's how exponential spread works.

I am so pandemic fatigued and really not doing well with my isolation anymore. I thought I could gut it out for a year, maybe two, but it's been hell living like this. I miss socializing and people, yet now I'm terrified of it all.

I used to love traveling. Now I'm horrified by it.

But I really do feel your pain with the traveling.

I'm sorry your family is so far away, and that you can't travel. But hopefully they will find that this variant is not as severe. I hope that is the case, but who knows. Meanwhile, I hope you are able to connect with you family somehow. If it is safe to travel, I hope you have safe travels with no bans.