Omicron Fails to Halt Art Basel Miami as People Crave Normalcy

Art Basel Miami Beach kicks off this week, bringing a massive fair and tens of thousands of visitors from around the world to southern Florida just as scientists are weighing the public-health implications of the new omicron Covid-19 variant.

The event typically draws more than 80,000 visitors to Miami Beach. But that crowd is hardly an aberration in the U.S., where football stadiums were packed over the weekend and millions of families just gathered for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah celebrations.