Although farewell celebrations to the pandemic year of 2021 were almost as muffled as those that ushered it in, news that the Omicron variant wave appeared to be starting to recede brought hope for a happier New Year.
The Australian city of Sydney was one place where the New Year charged in with something like full swagger, as spectacular fireworks glittered in the harbour above the Opera House.
Still, South Africa, which first raised the alarm about the new fast-spreading coronavirus variant, gave the world one of the last big good surprises of the year, becoming the first country to declare its Omicron wave had crested – and with no huge surge in deaths.“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be amazing.
“The outlook is horrendously bad.” Wendy Garcia brought her 7-year-old son to the centre of Madrid for a dress rehearsal of the main New Year’s celebration the night before, to give him a taste of the fun he had missed last year but without big crowds. New York’s Times Square celebration, with just 15 000 spectators instead of the usual 55 000 or so, will be a big upgrade from last year’s audience of a few dozen. But with New York state reporting more than 74 000 cases on Thursday and 22% of tests coming back positive, critics wondered whether the celebrations should go ahead at all.Rapper LL Cool J had to step down as a headliner on ABC’s New Year’s Eve telecast after testing positive.
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