The Palm Springs International Film Festival awards ceremony scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 6, has been canceled for the second year in a row due to the rise in COVID variant cases. Worries continue to mount about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The Palm Springs Film gala is another event to be canceled due to COVID.

Since the pandemic began in 2020, COVID cases have been in-flux with no end in sight, and now it is heading into its third year with a new variant. Similarly, SNL, the popular sketch comedy show, ended up cancelling most of their mid-season finale due to the rise of COVID variant cases.

In a statement on Monday, The Palm Springs Film Awards said:

“The Palm Springs International Film Society has announced that the Film Awards will not take place this year on Thursday, January 6, 2022. We are taking this action due to the recent spike in COVID cases and out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of the honorees, patrons, and staff. The Palm Springs Film Awards are one of the largest events in the film world, with 2500 guests and more than 1000 staff in the room. The screening portion of the Palm Springs International Film Festival will take place January 7 through January 17, 2022, and will require proof of vaccination and the wearing of a mask. The Film Awards will partner with Entertainment Tonight to celebrate this year’s honorees, with details to follow. Those who purchased tickets for the Film Awards will be reimbursed. We hope to return to the Film Awards to an in-person event in 2023.”