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The world has begun to usher in the New Year, with pandemic controls silencing the celebrations of billions of people eager to say goodbye to 2020.
After a grueling year in which at least 1.7 million people died from Covid-19, new waves of infection have prompted new closures and forced would-be revelers to extend their 2020 tradition of watching events from the couch.
The eagerly awaited first seconds of 2021 fell on the Pacific nations of Kiribati and Samoa around 10 a.m. Irish time, and the uninhabited Howland and Baker Islands were the last to capsize in the New Year, 26 hours later.
New Zealand, which has earned praise for its handling of the coronavirus, followed an hour later with large crowds gathering in Auckland to watch a fireworks display.
Although still isolated by international border closures, months of zero reported cases in the community have allowed life in New Zealand to return to relative normalcy.
In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, fireworks lit up the glittering harbor with a dazzling display at 1pm, but few onlookers saw it in person.
Plans to allow crowds were scrapped amid a pool of around 150 new infections that have seen travel to and from Sydney severely restricted.
In Tokyo, which ushered in the new year at 3 p.m., residents face the prospect of a state of emergency being imposed after a daily record 1,300 new coronavirus infections were recorded in the past 24 hours.
Italy, where shocking images of makeshift morgues and exhausted doctors woke the world to the severity of the crisis, is on a national shutdown until January 7 and there is a 10 p.m. curfew
From France to Latvia to Brazil, police and in some cases military personnel are being deployed to ensure that night curfews or bans on large gatherings are enforced.
In London, 74-year-old American singer-songwriter Patti Smith will ring in the New Year with a tribute to the National Health Service workers who died from Covid-19, screened on the Piccadilly Circus screen and broadcast on Youtube. .
Thousands are expected to attend a Dubai fireworks and laser show at Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, despite a large number of new cases.
All event attendees, whether in a public place, hotel or restaurant, must wear masks and register with QR codes.
In Beirut, a city still reeling from the August port explosion, authorities are also taking action.
The night curfew has been delayed to 3 a.m. Bars, restaurants and nightclubs have reopened and are announcing big parties to mark the turn of the year.
On the shores of Lake Baikal in Siberia, where temperatures plummet to minus 35 degrees Celsius, about a dozen Russians emerged invigorated after a dip in the ice on New Year’s Eve.
The swimmers, known in Russia as “walruses,” ran for miles through a snowy forest in bathing suits and festive costumes before diving into the world’s largest freshwater lake.
Chancellor Angela Merkel used her New Year’s greeting to warn Germans that the “historic” coronavirus crisis will extend into 2021, even if vaccines provide some hope.
In Brazil, which has already recorded more than 193,000 deaths from Covid-19, the second-largest number in the world, fearful doctors await a new wave.
In recent days, social media has been filled with videos showing unmasked revelers enjoying a night out, and TV channels have even shown live footage of police closing down bars full of customers.
“The peak of the pandemic was between May and July, which was when there was not much movement and we take care of ourselves more. Now there are many cases and people are acting as if there was no pandemic,” said Luiz Gustavo. de Almeida, a microbiologist at the University of Sao Paulo.
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