Pandemic didn’t sideline Santa Claus, U.S. military confirms

DENVER — The U.S. military was tracking an elderly man with a white beard and a large belly who goes by the name of Saint Nicholas on Thursday.

There’s no reason for alarm, Air Force Gen. Glen D. Vanherck said.

In fact, this is a Christmas tradition going on its 65th year.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint U.s.-canadian operation that protects the skies over both countries, has tracked the fabled jolly old man since a child mistakenly called the base in 1955, asking to speak to Santa.

The base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, used to monitor for signs of a nuclear attack. But this year, officers at the base were making sure the coronavirus pandemic wouldn’t sideline Santa Claus and his reindeer from, as the storybooks say, delivering gifts to children around the world.

While the Santa tracking operations center usually has around 1,500 volunteers fielding calls from around the world, this year they scaled back because of COVID-19 concerns with few people in the center and many taking calls remotely.

With the smaller operation, they also added a voicemail for callers who couldn’t reach an operator.

But as cases continue to rise across the globe, it begged the question: Would Santa be able to bring our gifts to us safely?

“Santa Claus has been doing this for many, many years, as you know, and he’s been through pandemics before and challenges all around the globe. I’m 100 percent confident that Santa Claus knows exactly how to stay safe,” Vanherck said.

Despite a unique Christmas season, the NORAD commander said they didn’t expect disruptions to Santa’s schedule.

“We expect Santa Claus will be on time, arrives somewhere between 9 p.m. and midnight to each house. I would encourage all children to make sure they’re in bed by 9 p.m. so Santa Claus can stay on time,” he said.

His other key message: You can still leave out cookies.

This is Vanherck’s first year tracking Santa.

“Prior to being the commander of NORAD, I didn’t have an idea of really how popular this really is and how many people have done this for decades from the time they were children until now,” VanHerck said.