New Year celebrations to go on for some despite virus surge

SYDNEY/SEOUL • New Year celebrations around the world have been called off as the coronavirus casts a shadow over the festivities for a second year, but Australia was determined to enjoy the night, and there were even signs North Korea was preparing fireworks.

Global coronavirus infections have hit a record high over the past seven days, with an average of just over one million cases detected a day worldwide between Dec 24 and Thursday, some 100,000 up from the previous peak posted on Wednesday, according to Reuters data.

With numerous countries registering all-time highs, the authorities in many places have called off celebrations to welcome 2022, fearing that gatherings will allow the Omicron variant of the virus to spread even faster.

But Australia was determined to ring in the new year with a bang despite surges in infections to record levels in some places.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told people to "enjoy the evening", while Mr Dominic Perrottet, Premier of New South Wales state, urged everyone to "head out and enjoy the New Year", even as daily infections in the state nearly doubled to a record 21,151.

Social distancing rules are in place and masks are required indoors in Sydney, but thousands of people were expected to flock to its harbourside to watch fireworks, with queues at many vantage points from early yesterday morning.

North Korea also appeared to be preparing to buck the trend and celebrate the new year with midnight fireworks at Kim Il Sung Square in its capital Pyongyang.

Commercial satellite imagery showed preparations were under way, with a stage being installed in the square, according to NK News, a Seoul-based website that monitors North Korea.

The Rodong Sinmun state-run newspaper ran photographs of flower shops in Pyongyang crowded with mask-wearing customers buying blooms for the celebrations. North Korea sealed its borders after the pandemic began and has not reported a single case of Covid-19.

Over the border in South Korea, the mood was not so festive. A traditional midnight bell-ringing ceremony was cancelled for the second year and the authorities announced an extension of stricter distancing rules for two weeks to tackle a persistent surge in cases.

China, where the coronavirus first emerged in late 2019, was on high alert against the virus, with the city of Xi'an under lockdown and New Year events in other cities cancelled as the authorities urged restraint.

The authorities in the Indonesian capital Jakarta closed 11 roads that usually draw big crowds for New Year festivities, police said, while Malaysia banned big gatherings nationwide and cancelled a spectacular fireworks display at the Petronas Twin Towers in the capital Kuala Lumpur. Dozens of police teams were deployed in the city to monitor compliance with Covid-19 measures on New Year's Eve.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took to his official YouTube channel to urge people to wear masks at parties and limit the numbers attending, while Tokyo's famous Shibuya entertainment district banned year-end parties.

But Taiwan, another place where coronavirus mitigation has been a success, was set to hold celebrations almost like normal, with a pop concert in front of city hall in Taipei and midnight fireworks lighting up Taipei 101. Concertgoers would have to wear masks and register names and could drink only water.

New Zealand's biggest city, Auckland, eased restrictions this week to let people enjoy some song and dance.

In South Asia, the Indian authorities started to impose stringent rules on Thursday to prevent big gatherings, with night curfews in all major cities and restaurants ordered to limit customers. Despite the curbs, domestic tourists flocked to the famous beaches, pubs and nightclubs of Goa to ring in the new year.

Meanwhile, frustrated Dutch tourists are understood to have travelled to neighbouring Belgium to escape the tough lockdown at home over the festive period, despite appeals from the authorities not to head across the border.

In Rio, celebrations that usually bring three million people to Copacabana Beach were set to go ahead, and a midnight-to-4am curfew was lifted in South Africa to permit New Year revelry.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK