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SYDNEY (AFP) – The misery of the coronavirus loomed over Christmas preparations around the world on Thursday (December 24), with countless millions of people forced to cancel plans or limit the holidays under new virus lockdowns.
After a devastating pandemic year in which more than 1.7 million people died from Covid-19, a series of new outbreaks are a reminder that, despite emergency vaccine launches, life is unlikely to return. back to normal quickly.
In Australia, often a rare bright spot to keep the virus in check, a growing cluster of cases in northern Sydney have confined residents to seaside suburbs and prompted a ban on all but Christmas family gatherings. smaller.
Jimmy Arslan, owner of two cafes at the epicenter of the city’s outbreak, said commerce was down by 75 percent and his Canberra family was forced to cancel their Christmas visit.
“It is heartbreaking. It is a very, very bitter end to a bitter year,” the 46-year-old told AFP. “Let’s just say we should all welcome 2021 and kick off 2020.”
In Europe, much of the continent is going through a dark winter of resurgent outbreaks.
Germany has been forced to cancel its famous Christmas markets and Pope Francis plans to advance the Vatican’s midnight Christmas mass by two hours to comply with the curfew rules in Italy.
In Bethlehem, believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the mass will be held without worshipers and will be streamed online.
Nicolas al-Zoghbi, who visited the Chapel of St. Catherine in Bethlehem before Christmas, said the joy of the season had been replaced by “depression.”
“We hope the Lord destroys the crown, just get rid of it so we can go back to our previous life,” he said.
Vacation isolation
But for many, the isolation that has defined last year will continue until Christmas Day and beyond, as in Belgium, where residents are largely limited to receiving a single visitor.
In the Catholic-majority Philippines, some choose to vacation alone due to the risk of contracting the virus on public transportation, as well as quarantine rules that make travel time-consuming and expensive.
“I’m ordering food, rewatching old movies and catching up with my family via video,” said Ms. Kim Patria, 31, who lives alone in Manila.
Meanwhile, the British were isolated from parts of the world on their Sceptred Island, due to the appearance of a new Covid-19 strain.
Some UK border restrictions have been temporarily relaxed for the holidays, but thousands of other European countries are still stranded in England.
“Home for Christmas? Forget it,” said Laurent Beghin, a French trucker who delivered his load but was still stuck days later.
In the United States, more than a million people have been vaccinated, but the country’s response to the coronavirus remained chaotic when Donald Trump took a helicopter off the White House lawn for one of the last times in his presidency.
The Republican and his wife Melania were destined for a vacation at their glitzy Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after their shocking rejection of a massive coronavirus relief package approved by Congress.
New Years celebrations are looking depressing globally, with closings imminent for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Austria in the post-Christmas period, while Portugal has imposed a curfew on New Years Eve.
For now, Sydney still plans to perform in 2021 with its famous Harbor Bridge fireworks show, and New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian has promised that the seven-minute show will continue “no matter what.”
But, as with most of 2020, people are encouraged to watch TV from their couches.
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