New Year's Eve is synonymous with festive celebrations and fireworks display parties in a number of countries. This year's New Year's Eve event took place in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A number of major cities in several countries canceled New Year's Eve events. The cancellation was carried out due to the increasing number of cases of transmission of the new Covid-19 variant, namely Omicron.
Check out the information regarding the cancellation of the New Year's Eve event in a number of countries, which we have summarized below, as reported by CNN.
New Year's Eve Canceled in Greece
New Year's Eve celebrations have been canceled in the Greek capital, Athens. There will be no fireworks display this New Year's Eve.
This was conveyed directly by the Minister of Health of Greece, Thanos Plevris. Thanos Plevris told a news conference on Thursday, December 23, that all public Christmas and New Year celebrations planned by the city government were cancelled.
In addition, Greek citizens are also required to wear masks indoors and outdoors. For supermarkets and public transportation, residents are asked to wear double masks or high protective masks.
The regulation is known to last until January 3. The Greek Health Minister added that in the future there will be more restrictions on sports and entertainment venues.
New Year's Eve Canceled in Atlanta, USA
Atlanta, which is the capital of the state of Georgia, United States, also canceled the New Year's Eve commemoration event. New Year's Eve in Atlanta is known as the "Peach Drop" which is held at Underground Atlanta.
The event was canceled due to the growing number of Covid-19 cases in Atlanta. The cancellation was conveyed through the Underground Atlanta twitter account.
"Although we are sad to miss this year's party and music show, we are so excited to bring Peach Drop back next year and better than ever. Stay healthy everyone!," the tweet read on Wednesday (12/29/2021).
New Year's Eve Canceled in Germany
Germany imposed strict contact restrictions to curb the spread of Covid and banned New Year's Eve parties. This was announced directly by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, December 21.
This means that there will be no fireworks in a number of major German cities, namely:
- Berlin
- Munich
- Frankfurt
New Year's Eve Canceled in UK
The New Year's Eve event which was planned to be held in London, England has been cancelled. This was conveyed by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan via his Twitter account.
"Due to the spike in Covid cases, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel our NYE event in Trafalgar Square," tweeted Khan's verified account Monday (12/20/2021)
The New Year's Eve event, which was held at Trafalgar Square, was previously expected to accommodate 6,500 people. Instead, there will be a television program broadcast at midnight on the BBC One channel.
Not all cities in some countries cancel their events New Year's Eve . Several major cities are still continuing their plans to hold New Year's Eve events with a number of conditions. Here are a number of cities that will continue to host New Year's Eve events.
New Year's Eve in Bangkok
The capital city of Thailand, Bangkok, will still hold a New Year's Eve celebration. However, the celebration event was carried out with a number of rules during the pandemic.
New Year's Eve events in Bangkok are only allowed to be held outdoors. In addition, participants who attend must be fully vaccinated and do a Covid test at least 72 hours before the event.
New Year's Eve in New York
The massive New Year's Eve celebrations held annually in New York, USA will also remain. As in previous years, this New Year's Eve event will be held in Times Square.
However, there are a number of rules in celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square this year, namely:
- Event is limited to 15,000 people
- Must wear a mask
- Visitors are not allowed into the Times Square area until 3pm.
- Visitors are required to show an identity card.
New Year's Eve in Sydney is famous for its fireworks display. This year, the New Year's Eve event in Sydney will continue despite the increase in Covid-19 cases in Sydney.
A reported 11,201 new cases were announced on Wednesday (29/12) in Sydney. The number is almost double the number of previous days.
However, the organizers of New Year's Eve in Sydney ensured that the event was carried out with due observance of the Covid-19 health protocols. The event will be held around Sydney Harbour.
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