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SYDNEY: The world began ushering in the New Year on Thursday (December 31), with pandemic controls silencing the celebrations of billions of people eager to bid farewell to coronavirus-plagued 2020.
After a grueling year in which at least 1.7 million people died from COVID-19, new waves of infection triggered new closures and forced would-be revelers to extend their 2020 tradition of watching events from the couch.
From Sydney to Rome, fireworks shows, pyre burning, and live performances will be seen online or on television, if they have not been canceled entirely.
The long-awaited first lights of 2021 fell on the Pacific nations of Kiribati and Samoa starting at 10 a.m. M. GMT (6 PM Singapore Time), and the uninhabited Howland and Baker Islands were the last to turn over towards the New Year, 26 hours later.
At the palm-fringed Taumeasina resort near Samoa’s capital Apia, manager Tuiataga Nathan Bucknall was pleased to be open with no limit on the number of guests, but thanks to the coronavirus-induced state of emergency, he stopped serve alcohol at 11pm, he said.
New Zealand, which has earned praise for its handling of COVID-19, was next in line 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 the glittering harbor with a dazzling display at 1300 GMT, 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.
Even a proposal had to be abandoned to allow 5,000 frontline workers to replace absent tourists on the harbor beach as a token of appreciation.
“I think everyone looks to 2021 as a new beginning and a new beginning,” Karen Roberts, one of the lucky few who were allowed to pass through the area’s checkpoints, told AFP at a bar located underneath the Sydney Opera House.
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Goodbye to all that: Although the celebrations will be muted due to coronavirus restrictions, many around the world expect 2021 to be an improvement in 2020 (Photo: AFP / Attila Kisbendek).
In Tokyo, which will see the new year at 1500 GMT, residents face the prospect of a state of emergency being imposed after 1,300 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in the past 24 hours.
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People in Rome will broadcast live the burning of a huge pyre at the Circus Maximus, the ancient city’s stadium, along with a two-hour event featuring performances by artists and illuminated views of iconic landmarks.
Italy, where shocking images of makeshift morgues and exhausted doctors awakened the world to the severity of the crisis, is on lockdown across the country until January 7 and there is a curfew at 10 p.m.
From France to Latvia to Brazil, police and, in some cases, military personnel are being deployed to ensure 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 streamed on YouTube . .
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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.
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Waiting for the ball to drop: New York will host its traditional celebration in Times Square. (Photo: AFP / Arturo Holmes)
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 port explosion on August 4, 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.
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People write wishes or messages on confetti in Times Square, New York, on December 28, 2020 (Photo: AP / Seth Wenig)
Social media is already inundated with images and videos of crowded clubs and restaurants, prompting authorities to warn that a new lockdown could take effect after the holidays.
Fears of such a New Year’s hangover are widespread and there are signs that new strains of the virus may make the next few months even more difficult.
Chancellor Angela Merkel used her New Year’s greeting on Thursday to warn Germans that the “historic” coronavirus crisis will last until 2021, even if vaccines bring 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.
READ: US May Expand Required COVID-19 Testing to More International Passengers
Messages that people wrote in confetti are displayed in Times Square on December 28, 2020 (Photo: AP / Seth Wenig).
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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