Anxiety soars for JFK passengers

Djily Mbacke cut short his visit with family in Senegal because of Omicron.

The newest COVID-19 variant first popped up 6,000 miles away from Senegal in South Africa, but Mbacke, 57, was convinced it was time to go.

“I think it’s bad,” the North Carolina resident said of the new variant as he passed through JFK Airport on Saturday. “Man, I was scared of that; that’s why I came back.”

“I cut my vacation because of it,” he added, although he said there were only two or three reported cases in Senegal.

The Omicron variant has been detected in travelers in the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic. No US cases had been reported so far.

While no direct flights from South Africa were arriving at JFK on Saturday, other travelers who visited the continent said they were aware of the latest mutation of the virus.

“This is what it’s going to be,” said Ebenizer, a Maryland resident returning from Nairobi, Kenya, who asked that his last name not be used. “There’s going to be more variants, just like the flu. I’m not scared at all.”

Maine residents Shaina and Neville Gregory were returning from their honeymoon in Tanzania, about 2,500 miles northeast of South Africa.

“The problem is, from the beginning people let their guards downs once the vaccine came out,” said Shaina Gregory, 25. “People from the start of the virus weren’t using caution, which is why it was exacerbated to where it is now.”

Petra Heilmann, 57, flew into New York from Frankfurt, Germany, to do some holiday shopping.

“We just have to live with it,” she said, lamenting the possible return of wide-scale travel bans.