PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Alexander Bicket grew up in South Africa, and he tries to make it back every year.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had to cancel the last few trips. This year, he didn’t want to miss it.
“My flight was empty. I think a lot of people canceled their flights, unlike me,” Bicket told Channel 11′s Gabriella DeLuca.
“They said, ‘come on over, we’re fine over here, the reason of the world is overreacting to this.’ I had to make a decision because this all went down on Friday after Thanksgiving morning, and I had a flight at midday,” he said.
He left the day after Thanksgiving, after consulting with his friends who are physicians there.
He landed in Cape Town, South Africa, and has been visiting close friends he hasn’t seen in years.
“I have two friends in their 90′s. I wanted to see them, never knowing what could happen with the stretch of time,” Bicket said.
The day Bicket left Pittsburgh, the federal government issued travel restrictions for South Africa and nearby countries because of the new omicron variant.
He says people in South Africa are taking it seriously.
“I see people adhering to the mask mandate in public. I see people in masks walking around outside in public. When you go into the store, there is somebody standing there with a bottle of disinfectant, and they will personally squirt your hands, and make sure you sanitize before you go in there,” he added.
Bicket is scheduled to come back Dec. 18, assuming his flight isn’t canceled due to a proliferation of the omicron variant.
If his travel plans are canceled, he’s concerned about his work schedule.
“We have booked cases obviously out until January, and there are some cases that need to be dealt with. I am in contact with my office every day, and any motions that are filed that I can deal with over the phone, I do deal with,” he said.
According to the travel restriction guidelines, if you’re a U.S. citizen, you are allowed to come back to the states after a negative COVID-19 test.
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