Between canceled parties, curfews and other restrictions, the world, Friday (31), prepares to enter 2022 Yet another year of an epidemic in which, despite vaccinations, the omicron variant is causing an outbreak of unprecedented infections.
The past twelve months have been marked by a change of president in United StateAnd Olympic Games Without spectators, dreams of democracy are shattered in AfghanistanAnd Myanmar where Nicaragua and growing concerns about climate change.
but she was pandemic, entering its third year, and which once again dominated the lives of many people. More than 5.4 million people have died since the virus was discovered in China in December 2019.
More than 280 million people have contracted the virus, according to an AFP balance sheet based on official data, although the actual number may be much higher.
Almost all of humanity has been affected Restrictions and limitations Apply depending on the evolution of the epidemic.
Vaccines gave hope, with More than 60% of the world’s population has been immunized. But its distribution was uneven, especially in poor countries, This facilitated the emergence of new variables.
The latest of them, omicron, has plunged half the world into a new spiral of restrictions due to its unprecedented speed of transmission, with more than a million infections in a week for the first time, according to an AFP count.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, France or Argentina have records of new daily infections.
festive life
The regions of the Pacific nation of Kiribati were the first to welcome the New Year …
Sydney, the largest city in Australia And among the first to welcome the new year, I also decided to keep the fireworks that usually light up its famous port.
In contrast to 2020, the fireworks display gathered tens of thousands after Australia abandoned its strategy to eradicate the virus and sought to live with it.
But the flow was far from a million or so people. Tourists have not yet been able to enter the country and many residents fear the rapid spread of omicron.
Nevertheless, the city welcomed 2022 with six tons of colorful fireworks that lit up the Opera House and floating sandals, turning the Harbor Bridge into a rainbow.
we The United Arab EmiratesDubai prepares for a fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, with a height of 828 metres. The Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah will once again attempt to break the world record for the largest fireworks display.
From Seoul to San Francisco, via Mexico or Athens, New Year’s celebrations have once again been restricted or canceled.
But in Rio de Janeiro, which usually gathers 3 million people on Copacabana Beach, the party continues.
As in New York’s Times Square, official events will be scaled back, but crowds are expected.
“People have only one desire, to leave the house and celebrate life after the pandemic has forced everyone to lock themselves up,” bartender Francisco Rodriguez commented in Copacabana.
“There will be a lot of people in Copacabana (…) It is inevitable,” believes lawyer Roberta Assis, who is planning a small party.
Discounted Parties
But in the face of an unparalleled wave of infections caused by the infectious omicron variant, many governments ended up restoring restrictions for this festive period.
Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Bangkok have canceled their New Year celebrations, Greece has banned music in bars and restaurants, and Pope Francis has suspended his regular New Year’s Eve visit to the manger in St Peter’s Square.
Most Spanish cities have canceled their public celebrations, but not Madrid, with a less restrictive approach, which will allow 7,000 people to eat grapes in Puerta del Sol.
For many – in Bombay, Barcelona or Montreal – the party will have to end early due to the curfew imposed against the virus, in some cases before midnight.
On the other hand, in South Africa, where the new variant was revealed in late November, the presidency lifted the curfew the day before after considering an increase in Omicron cases.
And the health authorities pointed out that this malicious wave did not result in a noticeable increase in deaths, which reinforces the thesis that this alternative causes fewer risks of hospitalization than its predecessors.
Experts hope this trend will be repeated elsewhere, leading to a less-lethal phase of the pandemic by 2022.
But the World Health Organization does not want to let its guard down, warning that a “tsunami” of infection could put health systems “on the brink of collapse”.
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