COVID's Omicron variant is dampening New Year celebrations in major cities all over the world. While New York is pushing through with its iconic New Year's celebration, the same cannot be said for cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Rome, London, Edinburgh, Athens and New Delhi, where governments have prohibited large gatherings, as per media reports.
The Christian Post reported that these cities will see more subdued New Year celebrations as they deal with the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID. Germany is currently facing a fourth wave of COVID cases, fears of a "massive fifth wave" of Omicron infections. DW reported that these fears come as hospitals in the country are being overwhelmed with COVID patients.
The German government has even banned fireworks to prevent possible injuries caused by such fireworks that may cause more emergency room visits. Germany has also recorded its first Omicron-related death in a person aged between 60 to 79.
Meanwhile in the U.K., the Trafalgar Square New Year's Eve celebration has also been canceled in the midst of the surge of Omicron cases in London. City mayor Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the cancellation of the New Year celebration that was set to attract up to 6,500 attendees, saying instead that the occasion will be broadcast live featuring a highlight of the most defining moments of 2021.
"This will be very disappointing for many Londoners, but we must take the right steps to reduce the spread of the virus," Mayor Khan said. The U.K. is currently seeing an average of 144,000 new Omicron cases per day. However, preliminary studies have suggested that the Omicron variant is milder and less people are getting severely ill from it versus previous variants such as Delta.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also announced the cancellation of New Year celebrations, including the "large-scale Hogmanay celebrations" in Edinburgh. France's Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a ban on major public parties and fireworks on New Year's Eve and Greece's Health Minister Thanos Plevris has announced the cancellation of New Year celebrations that were planned by municipalities.
Meanwhile in the U.S., the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday revised down the Omicron proportion of cases for the week ending December 18, Reuters reported. Initially, the CDC estimated that 73% of COVID cases were because of Omicron, but they've revised the number to 22%. As of December 25, the number was 58.6%. The agency cited additional data and the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron that caused the discrepancy.
"We had more data come in from that timeframe and there was a reduced proportion of Omicron," a CDC spokesperson explained. "It's important to note that we're still seeing a steady increase in the proportion of Omicron."
Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb took to Twitter to announce that the CDC's new estimate on the prevalence of Omicron in the U.S. was precise and that it is possible that the surge in COVID hospitalizations in America today are still in part due to the Delta variant.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Various experts, including Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who discovered Omicron having infected her patients, assert that Omicron is not a cause for concern as its symptoms are "mild." Recent studies even indicate that Omicron infections are expected to result in natural immunity, even to older variants such as Delta, without any risk of illness.
The fearmongering that led to canceling New Year celebrations, then, appears to be unfounded and nothing more than hysteria and control.
