NEW YORK:Only a handful of invited guests, including health care workers and others from the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, will gather on Thursday evening in New York's Times Square to witness the dropping of the New Year's Eve ball, marking the end of a sobering 2020 and a hopeful start to 2021.
For decades, tens of thousands of merrymakers -- many of them tourists -- have filled the blocks around Times Square on New Year's Eve, standing for hours in the cold waiting to see a glittering crystal ball glide down a pole mounted atop a skyscraper in the year's final seconds. When the ball reaches the bottom, the crowds erupt in hugs, kisses and good cheer.
But this year Mayor Bill de Blasio and police officials have told New Yorkers and out-of-towners alike to stay away and watch pared-down festivities on television. A large contingent of police officers will barricade the area to prevent unauthorized people from gathering, aiming to prevent an event that could accelerate the spread of the virus in a city already struggling to contain it.
Scores of New Year's Eve events around the United States have been similarly curtailed or moved online.
"It's going to be actually, arguably, the most special, the most poignant, the most moving New Year's Eve," de Blasio, who will push the button to start the crystal's ball descent, told reporters. "In 2021, we're going to show people what it looks like to recover, to come back."
Some people either didn't get the message or decided to come to Times Square anyway, hoping to get an early glimpse of the ball before police started to clear the plaza of anyone who was not authorized to be there.
"It's actually sad to see such a big distress, but I wanted to be here because it is my tradition," Matt Wozniak, a 41-year-old New Yorker who owns a construction business, said in explaining why he came to Times Square on Thursday morning. "I've been coming for many years, sometimes in a big crowd. Now it's different - it feels different."
New York police will allow only a few dozen people to watch the ball drop at the so-called Crossroads of the World in midtown Manhattan. Organizers have invited a grocery store worker, a building doorman, a pizza delivery man and doctors and nurses, including Sandra Lindsay, the New York nurse who became the first recipient of a coronavirus vaccine in the United States outside of a trial earlier this month.
The masked guests, spaced apart for safety, will gather in front of a temporary stage set up in the plaza to see live performances by the Bronx-born singer Jennifer Lopez and Gloria Gaynor, who will perform her disco classic "I Will Survive."
More than 25,000 New Yorkers have been killed by COVID-19 this year. In the spring, during the early days of the U.S. outbreak, the city emerged as the epicenter of the pandemic.
"New York is undefeatable -- as the world is," Kathleen Mukameal, 62, a retired New Yorker who now works as a voting rights activist, said during an early swing through the square. "We're celebrating everything good and we have so much to be grateful for in spite of this horrific situation that we're enduring."
As new daily case tallies continue to rise across the United States, bars and restaurants and other gathering places in New York City are closed or have sharply limited capacity.
In Las Vegas, Boston and beyond, official fireworks displays have been canceled. Organizers of Boston's annual First Night arts festival on New Year's Eve have arranged for six hours of live performances streamed online by local musicians and artists.
Reuters
Fri Jan 01 2021
Police man checkpoints to prevent people from entering Times Square ahead of New Year's Eve amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Jualan penyaman udara naik mendadak di negara Balkan
Menetap di negara sejuk, mereka tidak pernah terfikir memasang penyaman udara di dalam rumah memandangkan musim panas bukanlah setiap hari. Namun, cuaca panas melampau membuatkan mereka bertukar fikiran.
Malaysia kecam sekeras-kerasnya pencerobohan ekstremis Zionis Israel ke atas Masjid Al-Aqsa
Kerajaan Malaysia mengecam sekeras-kerasnya pencerobohan Masjid Al-Aqsa oleh ekstremis Zionis Israel pada 13 Ogos.
Reda dengan pemergian anak walaupun bukan pengakhiran diharapkan - Ayah Nidza Afham
Ayah kepada penyanyi dan Youtubers Muhammad Nidza Afham Mokhtar reda dengan pemergian anak lelakinya walaupun itu bukan pengakhiran yang beliau harapkan.
Ahli perniagaan diberkas, terlibat dalam aktiviti kumpulan mafia
Seorang ahli perniagaan Itali ditangkap di bandar Natal, Brazil pada selasa.
Giuseppe Bruno kini menghadapi tuduhan termasuk melakukan pemerasan dan pengubahan wang haram dan juga penglibatan bersama kumpulan mafia.
Giuseppe Bruno kini menghadapi tuduhan termasuk melakukan pemerasan dan pengubahan wang haram dan juga penglibatan bersama kumpulan mafia.
Srettha hormati keputusan mahkamah
Srettha Thavisin menghormati keputusan Mahkamah Perlembagaan Thailand yang memecatnya daripada jawatan Perdana Menteri.
Lahir empat hari lepas, bayi kembar maut angkara serangan rejim Zionis
Kembar lelaki diberikan nama Asser manakala Ayssel pula nama diberi buat kembar perempuan, kedua-duanya lahir pada 10 Ogos lepas.
Lelaki tikam ibu saudara direman tujuh hari
Seorang lelaki yang disyaki menikam ibu saudaranya di kepala dengan gunting, semalam direman selama tujuh hari hingga 21 Ogos ini.
PN senarai pendek tiga calon, akan diumum selepas PRK Nenggiri
Perikatan Nasional telah menyenarai pendek tiga calon untuk bertanding pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Mahkota yang dijadualkan berlangsung pada 28 September depan.
10 cedera dalam kejadian reaktor kilang terbakar di Bintulu
Menurut PGOB kesemua mangsa yang cedera telah dikejarkan ke Hospital Bintulu untuk rawatan lanjut.
Mayat Muhammad Nidza Afham dibawa ke Hospital Shah Alam
Mayat Muhammad Nidza Afham Mokhtar yang ditemukan di Sungai Klang petang tadi dibawa ke Unit Forensik Hospital Shah Alam (HSA) untuk urusan bedah siasat.
Musim panas landa AS, orang ramai cari lokasi sejuk
Aiskrim, tempat berteduh, dan kolam renang menjadi lokasi tumpuan apabila musim panas bermula dengan gelombang haba rekor di beberapa negeri di Amerika Syarikat.
Pesawat peribadi ghaib selama 53 tahun ditemui di dasar tasik
Serpihan sebuah pesawat jet peribadi yang hilang selama lebih 53 tahun selepas membawa lima lelaki berjaya ditemui di dasar Tasik Champlain.
Justin Bieber, isteri umum berita kehamilan
Penyanyi Justin Bieber dan isterinya Hailey Bieber memuat naik berita kehamilan anak pertama mereka di akaun sosial media masing-masing.
Pembaharuan fiskal kerajaan bantu perkukuhkan lagi keyakinan pelabur - MoF
Pembaharuan fiskal yang dilaksanakan kerajaan telah membantu memperkukuh lagi keyakinan pelabur terhadap Malaysia, kata Kementerian Kewangan.
Amir Hamzah ketuai delegasi ke mesyuarat bersama pelabur di New York
Menteri Kewangan II Senator Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan mengetuai delegasi Malaysia ke mesyuarat bersama pelabur di New York, Amerika Syarikat dari 14 April hingga 16 April, 2024.
Gempa bumi di New York, New Jersey: Kementerian Luar giat selaras usaha
Gegaran dirasai di seluruh kawasan Tri-State (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) dan sejauh utara Massachusetts.
Wanita tergamak ketuk kepala ibu dengan periuk sampai mati
Seorang wanita tergamak mengetuk ibunya dengan periuk masak hingga mati dan kemudian menelefon pihak kecemasan dengan mengakui melakukan pembunuhan kejam itu.
Umat Islam di New York teruja sambut kedatangan Ramadan
Ribuan umat Islam di New York menyambut permulaan Ramadan pada Ahad, dengan berkumpul di Times Square yang simbolik.
Pemilu 2024: Biarpun jauh di New York, Cinta Laura Kiehl tidak lepas tanggungjawab mengundi
Biarpun Jauh Di New York, Cinta Laura Kiehl Tak Lepas Tanggungjawab Mengundi Sempena PEMILU 2024
Final Piala Dunia 2026 di New York
New York mengenepikan bidaan daripada Dallas untuk memastikan perlawanan final diadakan di bandar raya itu.