According to Santa Claus, there is not expected to be significant disruptions to present delivery on Christmas Eve due to COVID-19.
“We feel pretty confident that we’re going to be able to deliver this year,” Claus said, in an exclusive phone interview with the Humboldt Journal.
“The elves have made adjustments to the sleigh so there is a sanitization station, and of course I’ll be wearing masks and be making suit changes throughout the night so we can make sure we’re going to be as safe as possible.”
There is a lot of speculation about whether Claus is immune to the virus, as it was previously reported by Dr. Anthony Fauci that Claus has an innate immunity.
“I would like to think I’m immune, but I am human,” Claus explained, adding that his elves on the other hand are.
“Because I’m human I’ve got to be careful and so I’ll be doing the same things that most other humans right now are doing, and I’m going to be listening to what the World Health Organization (WHO) is saying.”
Some of his precautions include having two separate COVID-19 tests to ensure he won’t spread the virus, and two weeks quarantine before the big day.
For houses that have been identified with COVID-19, Claus said he has been working with the elves to develop safe delivery tools.
When the pandemic first hit, Claus said the entire North Pole went into a lockdown while they accessed the situation – but it is not believed to have affected production.
“We generally like to do some downtime in the spring anyways, so shutting down the factories, we knew we could do it,” he said.
“We all regrouped back in June via Zoom and we made a game plan of how to proceed with this year’s Christmas.”
When asked if there’s a message he would like to tell the community, Claus said it’s to remember the spirit of Christmas.
“Remember, Christmas may only happen one day a year, but the spirit of Christmas lasts all year. Look out for your neighbours, be kind to them, be kind to your friends, be kind to your family. As long as you do that, the spirit of Christmas will continue to last and continue on throughout the year.”
Claus added that if children haven’t sent him their wish list letters, to inform their parents of what they want.
“What I like to tell kids, if you haven’t – let your parents know what you want for Christmas, and your parents will tell me,” Claus said.
Special thanks to Humboldt’s Matteo Carboni for connecting the Humboldt Journal with Mr. Claus.
