Wish you all a Happy New Year 2022
SYDNEY, December 31, 2021
Much like last year, 2021 is ending with the emergence of a new form of the coronavirus, dashing hopes that the end of the pandemic might be in sight, said media reports.
And although so far the new variant, omicron, seems to have milder symptoms and lower rates of hospitalization and death, many countries around the world are erring on the side of caution and scaling back plans to ring in the New Year, said media reports.
There will be no traditional displays above most of the world’s landmarks, with fireworks cancelled over Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, London’s Big Ben and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
Yet boisterous New Year’s Eve celebrations kicked off in the Serbian capital of Belgrade where, unlike elsewhere in Europe, mass gatherings were allowed despite fears of the omicron variant.
Another notable exception is Australia, the first country to pronounce itself past its omicron wave. Here, the traditionally spectacular fireworks over Sydney Harbor proceeded despite a growing outbreak.
Thousands of fireworks lit up the sky over Sydney’s Harbor Bridge and Opera House at midnight. Yet the crowds were far smaller than in pre-pandemic years.
However, in the neighbouring New Zealand a light display marked celebrations in Auckland on Friday night after authorities cancelled several fireworks displays.
Across the globe, a mostly muted New Year’s Eve celebrations ushered in the fourth calendar year framed by the global pandemic. More than 285 million people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide since late 2019 and more than 5 million have died.
In Paris, officials cancelled the fireworks amid surging infections and reintroduced mandatory mask-wearing outdoors, an obligation followed by the majority of people who milled about on the Champs-Elysees as the final hours of 2021 ticked away.
In Berlin, police urged people not to gather near the Brandenburg Gate, where a concert was staged without a live audience. In Madrid, authorities allowed only 7,000 people into the city’s Puerta del Sol downtown square, a venue traditionally hosting some 20,000 revelers.
In India, millions of people rang in the new year from their homes, with nighttime curfews and other restrictions taking the fizz out of celebrations in New Delhi, Mumbai and other large cities.
In Japan, Tokyo cancelled its official New Year's countdown at the famous Shibuya crossing intersection. Authorities turned off all billboards at 11pm and asked people not to gather in crowds. In spite of this, thousands of people turned up to celebrate.
Earlier in the day on New Year's Eve, people thronged to temples and shrines, most of them wearing masks. Many were also seen dining and drinking in downtown Tokyo and flocking to shops, celebrating being freed from recent virus restrictions.
In South Korea's capital, Seoul, the annual New Year’s Eve bell-ringing ceremony was cancelled for the second year in a row due to a rise in infections. The ceremony was instead broadcast online and on television.
Beaches and other tourist attractions along the east coast were also closed and on Friday, the government extended tough distancing rules for another two weeks.
Neighbouring North Korea marked the start of 2022 with fireworks in Pyongyang.
In mainland China, the Shanghai government canceled an annual light show along the Huangpu River that usually draws hundreds of thousands of spectators. There were no plans for public festivities in Beijing, where popular temples have been closed or had limited access since mid-December.
