Washington: The Omicron coronavirus variant dampened New Year festivities around much of the world, with Paris cancelling its fireworks show, London relegating its to television, and New York City scaling down its famous ball drop celebration in Times Square.
The illuminated ball made of Waterford crystal panels slid down its poll at the midnight hour in Times Square, but only 15,000 spectators were allowed into the official viewing area instead of the usual 58,000.
A year ago, the newly available vaccine offered hope that the Covid pandemic may be under control by the start of 2022. Instead, the sudden arrival of Omicron has brought a surge in Covid cases across the globe.
Worldwide infections hit a record high over the past seven-day period, with an average of just over a million cases detected a day between December 24 and 30, up some 1,00,000 on the previous peak posted on Wednesday.
Deaths, however, have not risen in kind, bringing hope the new variant is less lethal. — Reuters
Fireworks kill 2 in Germany, Austria
Berlin: Exploding fireworks killed two men on New Year’s Eve, one in Germany and the other in Austria, local media said. Several others were injured in other mishaps involving fireworks in Leipzig and Hamburg cities of Germany.