Santa Claus is on his way. And COVID-19 won’t stop him.

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. — Rest assured, kids of each ages: Santa’s coming this Christmas Eve, and a 2nd vacation with COVID-19 won’t halt him.

That’s the connection from the associated U.S.-Canadian subject cognition that for 66 years has been tracking Jolly Old St. Nicholas connected his planetary ngo and has assured america each — archetypal by onshore enactment and much precocious by iPhone, Android, OnStar, Facebook, YouTube and much — that he’s connected his mode with a sleigh stuffed with toys and a invited dose of joy.

In what’s go its ain wildly fashionable tradition, the Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defense Command provides real-time updates connected Santa’s advancement Dec. 24, from 4 a.m. to midnight MST. NORAD’s Santa Tracker lets families ticker Father Christmas successful 3D arsenic helium transits the South Pacific, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

From heavy wrong NORAD headquarters, dozens of volunteers tract an unrelenting question of telephone calls to 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). They and different volunteers moving off-site due to the fact that of coronavirus distancing protocols volition reply specified questions arsenic “When volition helium travel to my house? What benignant of cookies does helium like?” said programme manager and NORAD spokesperson Preston Schlachter.

Want to watch? Visit https://www.noradsanta.org, cheque retired #NORADTracksSanta and NoradSanta connected Twitter, oregon usage the associated apps. You tin besides email noradtrackssantaoutlook.com for the latest.

President Joe Biden and archetypal woman Jill Biden besides participated successful tradition, answering calls to the Santa tracking service. It is simply a longstanding contented for archetypal ladies, but the president joined this twelvemonth arsenic well.

Even earlier Friday’s takeoff, the NORAD webpage had been visited much than 3 cardinal times, Schlachter said.

“Every household, each state is having to woody with the interaction of this pandemic. Santa Claus is an icon, and helium is simply a root of joyousness for a batch of people,” Schlachter said.

For those disquieted astir Santa’s information — oregon their ain — the bearded antheral apt volition beryllium wearing a disguise astatine each stop, and of people he’s wearing gloves, Schlachter noted. For the technically inclined, NORAD’s website offers much information connected the voyage (Weight of gifts astatine takeoff: 60,000 tons, oregon 54,600 metric tons; sleigh propulsion: 9 RP, oregon reindeer power).

Like immoderate bully Christmas tale, the program’s root has been told for generations.

In 1955, Air Force Col. Harry Shoup — the on-duty commandant 1 nighttime astatine NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command — answered a telephone from a kid who dialed a fig that was misprinted successful an advertisement successful a newspaper, reasoning she was calling Santa.

Shoup “answered the call, thought it was a prank astatine first, but past realized what had happened and assured the kid that helium was Santa, and frankincense started the contented that we are celebrating present 66 years later,” Schlachter said.

NORAD’s ngo is to ticker the skies supra North America for immoderate imaginable threats. Come aboriginal Christmas Eve, the Santa cognition begins erstwhile a clump of radar stations successful bluish Canada and Alaska prime up an infrared signature emanating from Rudolph’s nose. NORAD’s array of geostationary satellites supra the Earth show the journey.

It’s each shown connected large, “unclassified” show screens successful a festively decorated bid station astatine Peterson Space Force Base successful Colorado Springs. Masked volunteers beryllium astatine tables equipped with telephones, garland, miniature Christmas trees, plentifulness of caffeine-laden candy and java — and manus sanitizer.

“We Have the Watch,” is NORAD’s military-mission motto.

And erstwhile it comes to Santa, NORAD adds:

“Santa calls the shots. We conscionable way him.”

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Associated Press writer Terry Chea successful San Francisco contributed to this report.