ROME. Covid-19 will stifle New Year’s celebrations around the world for the second year in a row, as governments in many countries have canceled or reduced holiday periods and capacity to contain a surging wave of infections.
In the week of December 23 to 29, the world crossed the symbolic milestone of one million daily contaminations.
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Over the past seven days, an average of 1,045,000 infections have been detected daily, 46% more than the previous week, according to official reports.
Many countries have seen record levels of cases in the past 24 hours, including Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, the United States, France and Italy, as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads quickly.
Although studies have suggested that it is less deadly than some previous variants, many health officials prefer to take the risk and have told people that the best way to celebrate the arrival of 2022 is at home and with a very few guests, all vaccinated.
In Europe, traditional concerts and fireworks have been canceled in most major cities, including London, Paris, Zurich, Brussels, Warsaw and Rome.
Indian authorities have imposed strict rules to avoid mass gatherings, with nighttime curfews in all major towns and restaurants to limit crowds.
The Canadian province of Quebec has announced a nighttime curfew ahead of the New Year as cases of Covid-19 skyrocket across the country.
World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged people to reconsider the party’s plans. “Better to cancel now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and cry later,” he said.
However, some venues continue to move forward with their plans, including Sydney, the first major city to usher in the New Year, which displays spectacular fireworks displays over the Opera House and Harbor Bridge.
Last year, the government banned crowds from attending the fireworks, as the number of cases fell below 100, against more than 12,000 new infections reported yesterday.
Likewise, New York has said it will host its party in Times Square, albeit in a scaled-down version, with far fewer people allowed to watch an iconic ball fall from a post to mark the arrival of 2022.
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