Newsman: COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have soared to their highest levels on record at over 265,000 per day on average. New York City reported a record number of new, confirmed cases — nearly 44,000 — on Wednesday and a similar number Thursday a day before the New Year’s Eve according to New York state figures. But New York City welcomed the new year — and bid good riddance to 2021 — as confetti and cheers spread across Times Square and as a New Year’s Eve tradition returned to a city beleaguered by a global pandemic. Even if the crowds were considerably smaller, people gathered across block after block to witness the ball drop. Last year’s ball drop was closed to the public because of the pandemic.
New York City’s incoming mayor, Eric Adams, took his oath in Times Square soon after the ball drop. He made a brief appearance earlier on the main stage to affirm the city’s resiliency.
“It’s just great when New York shows the entire country how we come back,” he said. “We showed the entire globe what we’re made of. We’re unbelievable. This is an unbelievable city and, trusts me; we’re ready for a major comeback because this is New York
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who relinquished oversight of the nation’s most populous city at the stroke of midnight, said the festivities at Times square would “show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this.”
The new year marched across the globe, time zone by time zone, and thousands of New Year’s revelers stood shoulder to shoulder in a slight chill to witness a 6-ton ball descend above a crowd of about 15,000 in-person spectators — far fewer than the many tens of thousands of revelers who usually descend on the world-famous square to bask in the lights and hoopla of the nation’s marquee New Year’s Eve event. But 2022 begins just as the year prior began — with the pandemic clouding an already uncertain future.
Though the crowds were smaller, the throngs nevertheless stretched for blocks to soak in the celebration, with many traveling from afar to take part. Confetti lit up by electronic billboards swirled in a light wind on a mild winter night in New York City.
The annual ball drop took place as the clock ticked into midnight and ushered in the New Year, an occasion usually commemorated with the uncorking of Champagne, clinking of pints, joyous embraces and renewed hope for better times ahead.
Times Square is often referred to as the crossroads of the world, and city officials insisted on holding the marquee New Year’s Eve event to demonstrate the city’s resiliency even amid a resurgence of the coronavirus.
Officials required those attending the spectacle would have to wear masks and show proof of vaccination. Organizers had initially hoped that more than 50,000 revelers would be able to join in, but plans were dramatically scaled back because of widespread infections
It did so as an uneasy nation tried to muster optimism that the worst days of the pandemic are now behind it — even as public health officials cautioned Friday against unbridled celebrations amid surging COVID-19 infections from the omicron variant.
Doubts swirled about whether the city would have to cancel this year’s bash, as the city posted record numbers of COVID-19 cases in the days leading to it, even as some cities like Atlanta had decided to cancel their own celebrations.
Rap artist and actor LL Cool J was supposed to be among the performers taking the stage in Times Square on Friday night, but announced he would pull out of the event because he had tested positive for COVID-19.
