Its not quite to 2020 levels as far as impact, but the Covid Omicron variant is starting to wreak havoc with schedule events. The latest casualty of the rapidly-spreading variant that’s come to dominate new cases is the Critics Choice Awards.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the organization came out with a statement announcing that the 27th annual event, scheduled for January 9th, had been postponed. No reschedule date has been announced.
“After thoughtful consideration and candid conversations with our partners at The CW and TBS, we have collectively come to the conclusion that the prudent and responsible decision at this point is to postpone the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards, originally slated for January 9, 2022,” the Critics Choice Association said in its statement.
We are in constant communication with LA County Health Officials, and we are currently working diligently to find a new date during the upcoming awards season in which to host our annual gala in-person with everyone’s safety and health remaining our top priority,” the organization continued. “We will be sharing additional details with our friends and colleagues throughout the entertainment industry as soon as we can.”
The CCA postponement follows on the heels of the AFI Awards being postponed earlier this week and the Motion Picture Academy’s Governors Awards getting pushed back earlier in the day on Wednesday.
Ahead of next year’s postponed events, networks are scrambling to make final decisions about their New Year’s Eve plans. Fox has already pulled the plug on its planned “New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022” special, set to be hosted by Ken Jeong and Joel McHale.
As of right now, ABC is still planning to move ahead with its annual “‘Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” while NBC is forging ahead with Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson’s new broadcast to replace Carson Daly’s annual event.
CBS is currently planning to move ahead with its Nashville-based celebration, featuring live performances throughout the city, and CNN has Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen set to return as well from Times Square.
The latest word from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is that he’s hopeful that the live event at Times Square will still be able to move forward. “We’re looking to add additional measures to make it even safer,” he told CNN. “The goal, of course, is to keep it going because it’s such an important event for New Yorkers and for the whole world.”
That said, they are exploring all options as the Omicron variant surge continues. After first appearing in December, the highly transmissive Omicron has quickly come to dominate all new cases, with CDC estimates that it makes up more than 70 percent of all positive cases now. Overall cases are up 54 percent from Thanksgiving, per CNBC, with new cases nearly doubling in the past week alone.
, Entertainment,International, ,