New Year's Eve muted by Omicron fears

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON－The world prepared to usher in 2022 on Friday after another tumultuous and pandemic-ridden year capped by new restrictions, soaring case numbers, and a slight glimmer of hope for better times ahead.

During the past 12 months, it was the pandemic－now entering its third year－that again dominated life for most humankind. More than 5.4 million people have died since the coronavirus was first reported in December 2019.

Countless more have been sickened and subjected to outbreaks, lockdowns, lock-ins and an alphabet spaghetti of PCR, LFT and RAT tests.

The year 2021 started with hope, as lifesaving vaccines were rolled out to around 60 percent of the world's population, although many of its poor still have limited access and some of its rich believe the jabs are part of some ill-defined plot.

As the year drew to a close, the emergence of the Omicron variant pushed new daily COVID-19 case numbers past 1 million for the first time, according to tallies by both Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

But so far, at least, the Omicron surge has not resulted in the same levels of hospitalizations and deaths as previous outbreaks, especially among vaccinated people, offering a glimmer of hope for 2022.

The United Kingdom, the United States, and even Australia－long a refuge from the pandemic－are breaking records for new cases.

US President Joe Biden is in the hot seat. Critics are crying incompetence in his handling of COVID-19, as the lingering Delta variant and the new Omicron variant surge through the country.

With a caseload nearly twice that of the worst single days of last winter, the US shattered its record for daily cases, according to a report by New York Times on Thursday.

To party, or not?

From Seoul to San Francisco, New Year's Eve celebrations have again been canceled or curtailed.

In Rio de Janeiro, celebrations that usually bring 3 million people to Copacabana Beach will go ahead.

Official events in the Cidade Maravilhosa, or Marvelous City, will be scaled back, but crowds of revelers are still expected.

"People have only one desire－to leave their homes, to celebrate life after a pandemic that has forced everyone to lock themselves up," said Francisco Rodrigues, a 45-year-old Copacabana beach server.

Some Brazilians are more circumspect, after one of the world's deadliest outbreaks left 618,000 of their countrymen dead.

"There will be lots of people on Copacabana," said 27-year-old lawyer Roberta Assis. "It's inevitable."

She plans to hang out at a friend's house in a small group. "It's not the moment for large gatherings," she said.

Authorities in Seoul are showing similar caution, barring spectators from a traditional midnight bell-ringing that will instead be livestreamed on television and a metaverse platform that will allow people to view a virtual reality version of the ceremony.

Across Japan, many people planned to take New Year trips to spend time with their families. On New Year's Eve, people thronged temples and shrines, most of them wearing masks.

Countries in Asia and the Pacific region would be among the first to usher in the new year.

In India, millions of people planned to ring in the new year from their homes, with nighttime curfews and other restrictions taking the fizz out of celebrations in large cities including New Delhi and Mumbai.

'Focus on the positive'

In contrast, Australia's largest city Sydney has decided to press ahead with a fireworks display that will light up the city's harbor.

Unlike last year's spectator-free event, tens of thousands of revelers are expected to crowd the foreshore despite having one of the world's fastest-growing caseloads.

"I'm just trying to focus on the positive things that happened this year, rather than dwelling on all the bad things that have happened," said 22-year-old medical student Melinda Howard, who was part of an enthusiastic but smaller-than-usual crowd waiting by the Opera House for fireworks to begin.

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

Many Western leaders have been hesitant to reimpose strict controls seen in 2020, for fear of sparking a new economic downturn.

But on-again, off-again restrictions have prompted frequent, vocal and occasionally violent anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine and anti-government protests.

For now, the World Health Organization has warned of trying times ahead.

"I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Agencies - Xinhua