Capitals-Sana
The countries of the world began to receive the new year in light of restrictions to limit the spread of the new Corona virus, relaxing their weight on the celebrations of billions of people eager to bid farewell to the year 2020 that the pandemic marked.
The highly anticipated early hours of the new year have come in the Pacific states of Kiribati and Samoa, while the uninhabited islands of Howland and Baker will be the last to receive this year after 26 hours.
An hour later, New Zealand followed as large crowds gathered in Auckland to watch a fireworks display.
In Sydney, the largest Australian city, light shows illuminated the harbor with a dazzling display, but few people attended the event.
Plans to allow crowds were canceled after a focus of around 150 new cases of corona was recorded, leading to severe restrictions on travel to and from Sydney.
In Tokyo, which will witness the arrival of the new year shortly, residents face the possibility of imposing a state of emergency after recording 1,300 cases of Coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
On the shores of Lake Baikal in Siberia, where temperatures reach minus 35 degrees Celsius, about a dozen Russians took part in an ice dive on New Year's Eve.