The world will usher in the third year of the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic. With the rapid spread of the mutant virus strain Omicron in many places, many New Year's Eve events have been cancelled or scaled down.
But there are still places that go the other way, such as South Africa, which claims the peak of the epidemic or has passed.
In South Africa, one of the first countries where Omicron appeared, the cabinet issued a statement before New Year's Eve saying that it is believed that the fourth wave of the epidemic caused by Omicron has passed its peak.
According to the article, cases and hospitalization rates in almost all provinces across the country have fallen.
The curfew that South Africa has imposed since late March 2020 has now been lifted.
People's movement from midnight to 4 am is not restricted.
Merchants can also sell alcohol while holding a general license, instead of closing their doors at 11 o'clock every night.
The government still calls on people to be vaccinated and to comply with public health regulations, including mandatory wearing of masks.
In addition, the maximum number of people for indoor gatherings is 1,000, and for outdoor gatherings is 2,000, or half of the capacity of the venue.
●United States
With the raging of Omicron (Omicron) mutant strains, the epidemic situation in European and American countries has recently rebounded severely.
On December 30, the number of newly confirmed cases in the United States exceeded 700,000 for the first time in a 24-hour period, the highest number of new cases in a single day since the outbreak.
Anthony Fauci, an American infectious disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, predicted on December 29 that the latest wave of Omicron strains in the United States may reach its peak at the end of January 2022, but before that , The epidemic situation is still getting worse.
The countdown event in Times Square, New York, USA was held as scheduled, but the number of attendees was limited and participants must wear masks.
(Reuters)
With the exception of the United States, the number of new confirmed cases in a single day in many European countries has broken the previous record.
According to data released by the French public health department on December 30th, as of the afternoon of the same day, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in France reached 9,740,600, an increase of 206,243 in the past 24 hours; the cumulative number of deaths reached 123,552, and an increase of 180 in the past 24 hours .
France has exceeded 200,000 newly confirmed cases for two consecutive days.
On December 30, Italy had 126,888 new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia and 156 new deaths.
This is a new record of newly confirmed cases in a single day in Italy.
The day before, there were over 98,000 newly confirmed cases in Italy.
According to data released by the Irish health department on December 29, Ireland reported more than 16,000 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia that day, which is also a new record of new confirmed cases in Ireland every day.
On the same day, there were 568 new hospitalized cases of new coronary pneumonia in Ireland, including 93 new severe cases.