Chaos Is Theme of New Year With Omicron Killing Hope of Normalcy

Americans who were hoping to begin 2022 with a step into normalcy are having a hard time breaking free from the pandemic-driven chaos of the past two years.

The omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading throughout the country, with an unprecedented 10 million people diagnosed with the virus over the past seven days. While hospitalization and death rates are relatively low compared with the height of the pandemic when vaccines were unavailable, and many of the infected people report only mild symptoms, the surge in cases has nevertheless disrupted travel, schooling and work.

In New York state, where daily Covid-19 ...