(NewsNation Now) — People across the planet celebrated the coming New Year in varying fashions as optimism for better times seems within reach and concerns over COVID-19 and its variants still loom.
In New York City, the annual ball drop took place as the clock hit midnight and revelers ushered in the New Year in a capacity-limited gathering.
The city said it would limit the number of people it would let into Times Square to witness a 6-ton ball, encrusted with nearly 2,700 Waterford crystals, 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, hoopla and shower of confetti during the nation’s marquee New Year’s Eve event.
Mary Gonzalez stood a few feet behind a crowd, wanting to keep her distance from anyone unwittingly carrying the virus into the celebration.
“I’m happy that 2021 is over because it caused a lot of problems for everybody,” said Gonzalez, who was visiting from Mexico City and wanted to take in an American tradition. “We hope that 2022 is much better than this year.”
In Florida, all four parks at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista were sold out on Friday, according to the company’s website.
The mostly muted celebrations around the world ushered in the fourth calendar year framed by the pandemic. More than 285 million people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide since late 2019 and more than 5 million have died.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to take a rapid coronavirus test before going out and meeting with others on Friday, or to celebrate outdoors if possible. While firework displays have been canceled in London for the second year in a row, many parties were going ahead and many revelers were still expected to turn out in the capital later in the day.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin mourned the dead, praised Russians for their strength in difficult times and soberly warned that the pandemic “isn’t retreating yet,” Putin said in a televised address broadcast just before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones.
Elsewhere, the venue that many chose for New Year’s celebrations was the same place they became overly familiar with during lockdowns: their homes. Because of omicron’s virulence, many cities canceled traditional New Year’s Eve concerts and fireworks displays to avoid drawing large crowds.
France, Britain, Portugal and Australia were among countries that set new records for COVID-19 infections as 2021 gave way to 2022. Still, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed hope as he gave the last New Year’s address of his current term.
“Perhaps 2022 will be the year we come out of the epidemic — I want to believe that with you — the year where we will be able to see the exit from this day without end,” Macron said as he urged the unvaccinated to get the jab.
Australia went ahead with its celebrations despite reporting a record 32,000 new cases. Thousands of fireworks lit up the sky over Sydney’s Harbor Bridge and Opera House at midnight. Yet the crowds were far smaller than in pre-pandemic years.
In Japan, writer Naoki Matsuzawa said he would spend the next few days cooking and delivering food to the elderly because some stores would be closed. He said vaccinations had made people less anxious about the pandemic, despite the new variant.
“A numbness has set in, and we are no longer overly afraid,” said Matsuzawa, who lives in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo. “Some of us are starting to take for granted that it won’t happen to me.”
South Korean authorities closed many beaches and other tourist attractions along the east coast, which usually swarm with people hoping to catch the year’s first sunrise.
In India, millions of people rang in the new year from their homes, with nighttime curfews and other restrictions taking the fizz out of celebrations in New Delhi, Mumbai and other large cities.
In Hong Kong, a New Year’s Eve concert featuring local celebrities including boy band Mirror was the first big New Year’s Eve event since 2018, after events were canceled in 2019 due to political strife and last year because of the pandemic.
In mainland China, the Shanghai government canceled an annual light show along the Huangpu River that usually draws hundreds of thousands of spectators. There were no plans for public festivities in Beijing, where popular temples have been closed or had limited access since mid-December.
Attendees at an event that coincided with the New Year Eve cheer as fake snow from a foam machine is blown overhead in Beijing, China, Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) 
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: An office building displays “2022” as the New Year is seen in, on January 01, 2022 in London, England. The countries that make up the UK have differing covid measures in place over the festive period. In Scotland, a maximum of 500 people can attend outdoor events where physical distancing of one metre is in place meaning the traditional Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations have been canceled. The rule-of-six in regulated premises, such as bars, restaurants, cinemas and theatres, was reintroduced in Wales on Boxing Day along with the closure of nightclubs. In England, the government has not introduced any new measures. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) 
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 01: Fireworks light up the sky over Sydney Harbour as the clock strikes midnight on January 01, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. New Year’s Eve celebrations continue to be somewhat different as some COVID-19 restrictions remain in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There were 21,151 news cases of COVID-19 recorded in New South Wales on the final day of 2021, setting a new record for the Australia’s most populous state (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) 
BERLIN, GERMANY – DECEMBER 31: Televised-only New Year’s Eve celebrations are held near the Brandenburg Gate on December 31, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. The German capital’s kickoff of the New Year, as in the previous instance, was a more toned-down affair than the one traditionally held, with no public audience allowed for its stage show and fireworks, the latter planned as a much smaller version than usual to avoid attracting non-socially-distanced crowds. A broadcast-only edition replaced the larger party, which usually attracts around 60,000 visitors, due to restrictions amidst the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images) 
TAIPEI, TAIWAN – January 01: Fireworks light up the Taiwan skyline and Taipei 101 during New Year’s Eve celebrations on January 01, 2022 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
