The world welcomes new year with muted celebrations due to omicron threat
New York City welcomed the new year and said good riddance to 2021 as fireworks and confetti spread across Times Square as a New Year’s Eve tradition returned to the city despite the pandemic threat and fear of infections.
The traditional event in Times Square allowed fewer revelers and everyone was required to wear a mask.
Thousands of New Year’s revelers witnessed a 6-ton ball, encrusted with nearly 2,700 Waterford crystals, descend above a crowd of about 15,000 spectators, fewer than the tens of thousands of revelers who usually attend the New Year’s Eve event.
New York City’s incoming mayor, Eric Adams, took his oath in Times Square soon after the ball drop. He made a brief appearance earlier on the main stage to affirm the city’s resiliency.
“It’s just great when New York shows the entire country how we come back,” he said. “We showed the entire globe what we’re made of. We’re unbelievable. This is an unbelievable city and, trust me, we’re ready for a major comeback because this is New York.”
In many cities, New Year’s Eve celebrations were muted or cancelled for the second straight year due to the threat of new variant of coronavirus and surge of infections. More than 285 million people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide since late 2019 and more than 5 million have died.
