The mayor of London has scrapped the capital's New Year's Eve celebration due to Covid while New York is weighing up whether to cancel its Times Square event.
London's famous New Year's Eve fireworks display had already been cancelled for a second year running, but 6,500 people were still expected for the Trafalgar Square celebration.
"Due to the surge in Covid cases, we've taken the difficult decision to cancel our NYE event in Trafalgar Square," Mayor Sadiq Khan said. "The safety of Londoners must come first."
The move came just days after Khan declared a major incident in London in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which has now become the dominant one in the capital.
Boris Johnson's Conservative government has so far resisted tightening Covid restrictions in England even though hospitalisations are reportedy rising “quite steeply” in London.
However countries such as France and Germany have tightened their entry restrictions on UK travellers dealing a blow to holiday makers' Christmas plans.
Meanwhile across the Atlantic, the fate of the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will be decided this week. Fully vaccinated revellers were expected to be allowed into Times Square to watch the famous ball drop.
But now New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio expects to decide by Christmas if it will go ahead now that Omicron is spreading swiftly through the city.
