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SYDNEY: The world braced itself to usher 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 will fall on the Pacific nations of Kiribati and Samoa starting at 10 a.m. local time, and the uninhabited Howland and Baker Islands will be the last to capsize in the New Year, 26 hours later.
Although the Pacific islands were spared the worst ravages of the pandemic, border restrictions, curfews and closed closures mean this New Year’s Eve will look a little different.
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People wearing face masks are seen in Tokyo on December 31, 2020 (Photo: AP / Eugene Hoshiko)
In the Taumeasina complex, surrounded by palm trees, near the capital of Samoa, Apia, the manager Tuiataga Nathan Bucknall is pleased to be open with no limit on the number of guests, but thanks to the state of emergency induced by the coronavirus “we have to stop the alcohol service at 11pm, “he said.
In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, pyrotechnics will continue to illuminate the glittering harbor with a dazzling display, but few spectators will be there to see 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.
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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).
Most Sydneyns will simply watch the proceedings on television at home, where meetings are limited to five guests.
Similarly, Romans will broadcast live the burning of a huge pyre at the Circus Maximus, the ancient city stadium, along with a two-hour event featuring performances by artists and illuminated views of iconic sites.
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.
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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 . .
SOCIAL MEETING
One place residents can celebrate without the help of a display is coronavirus-free New Zealand, where several cities will host fireworks displays with limited restrictions.
And in Dubai, thousands of people are expected to attend a fireworks and laser show at Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, despite a slew 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.
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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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