Lifestyle

We fled Omicron by getting the hell out of NYC!

At the end of November, Kathy Corby, a retired ER doctor, was feeling uneasy. She had purchased a renovated 19th-century house near Woodstock, and was planning on renting it much of the time, but it was nearly Thanksgiving, and she had very few winter customers.

“I was really worried because there were so few bookings for January and February, but suddenly things picked up, and now it’s filled,’’ the Philadelphia resident told The Post. “I actually wanted to go there at least one week a month, but it’s so busy, I can’t do that.”

After the initial mass exodus of New Yorkers fleeing the city in 2020 due to COVID-19, many began returning this year, encouraged by diminished cases and emboldened by vaccines. East End hamlets along with upstate towns returned to their cold-weather quiet. Then came the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, and the city was once again a disease epicenter. By Christmas weekend, daily positive tests in New York were climbing near 50,000. Holiday flights and vacations were cancelled, and people began to retreat to safer surroundings.  

Kathy Corby, a Philadelphia resident, in front of her property in Saugerties, New York that she rents on AirBnB. Stefano Giovannini

Hamptons here we come

Hotels outside NYC, including the Hamptons, are now seeing an uptick in visitors. “Our bookings increased 30 percent over pre-pandemic levels for this winter, and we have well over a million dollars in advance bookings for 2022,” said Dede Gotthelf, owner of Southampton Inn. “In the last two weeks, we had a very steep pickup with guests booking more frequent and longer stays.”

The Capri hotel in Southampton had closed until spring, but now operating partner Michael Pitsinos has decided to adjust. “Because of Omicron, we are planning to reopen this winter,” he said.

Holly Corey, 53, a yoga teacher who lives on the Upper West Side, had been staying out East since the onset of the pandemic, but moved back to the city in the fall.

“I had lunch with a friend, and she called a couple days later to say she tested positive,” Corey said with a sigh. “Then I went to yoga and got an e-mail that someone in class tested positive. At that point, I left and headed to a friend’s house in Southampton.”

Mayra Lopes and Diego Fernandes Farias went to the Catskills to escape Omicron. Courtesy of Diego Fernandes Fari

‘We may extend if it doesn’t feel safe to return’

Long Island City resident Diego Fernandes Farias and his wife, Mayra Lopes, who works for the United Nations, picked the Catskills as their destination to escape Omicron.

“Even though we want to be isolated, I have to walk our dog several times a day, and I will feel safer in the woods than in a crowded city park,’’ said Farias, a 35-year-old financier. “We booked a week, but we may extend if it doesn’t feel safe to return.” 

The couple reserved their cabin through Red Cottage Inc., which operates retreats in the Catskills and Hudson Valley.

“People’s plans blew up all over the place and they had to pivot, so we’ve gotten a wave of last-minute requests,’’ said Jennifer Grimes, the company’s owner. “Early January would have been a dead time for us, but we now have a bunch of weeklong stays scheduled.”

Ariella Duker, a 40-year-old interior designer who lives on the Upper East Side, was one of those pivoters. She cancelled her trip to Barbados in favor of a bunch of weekends at high-end hotels, including the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, Conn., and Troutbeck in Amenia, NY.

“With everybody freaking out, I decided to lay low,’’ she said. “My friends and I are finding these places a nice way to get out of town without a lot of interaction.”

Ariella Duker, a 40-year-old interior designer who lives on the Upper East Side, cancelled her trip to Barbados and instead went to a Troutbeck in Amenia, New York. Courtesy of Ariella Duker

Staying put in Florida

Many who did get on flights to Florida over the holidays have decided to stay put rather than return north. “This year, we saw 20 to 25 percent of the customers postpone their return to New York and stay in Palm Beach or Miami,” said Melissa Tomkiel, president of Blade Urban Air Mobility, the private aircraft service.

With many people scheduled to return after New Year’s, Tomkiel expects another round of flight postponements this week. 

Corby, too, had a New Year’s cancellation, but it was due to a family emergency, and she immediately had requests for her house, which was rented in minutes.

“I never booked so quickly,’’ she said. “It’s weird to be making money off another COVID surge, but I’m glad to be able to provide a safe haven.”