Photo: Michael M. Santiago/GettyNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says there are currently no plans to cancel theTimes SquareNew Year’s Eve event despite arisein COVID-19 cases linked to the highly contagious Omicron variant.During a Thursday morning interview onToday, De Blasio said the city is moving ahead with thescaled back celebrationannounced last week.De Blasio explained that rather than shut down the city, he’s focused on getting even more New Yorkers vaccinated.“We want to show that we’re moving forward, and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this,” he said.BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty ImagesAs previously announced, this year’s celebration will only be open to vaccinated attendees, who will be mandated to wear masks at all times and socially distance at the outdoor venue.The number of attendees has also been cut down to 15,000 people, which is significantly lower than the 58,000 people the event typically hosts a year. Additionally, visitors won’t be allowed entry into the event until 3 p.m., which is much later than in previous years.When askedduring hisTodayinterview if there have been any discussions about further reducing the size of the celebration or canceling it altogether, the mayor said there have not been, explaining that the decision to hold the event was “made with our health care team.“Citing “all of those layers of protection,” de Blasio added, “our health care leadership believes this is the right way to do it.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.While New York’s party plans are still on, experts havewarnedAmericans to call off their own New Year’s Eve plans. With U.S. covid cases hitting arecord highThursday, officials like infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci are cautioning against hosting and attending large indoor gatherings.“When you’re talking about a New Year’s Eve party where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of their vaccination, I would recommend strongly: Stay away from that this year,” Fauci said ina Monday interviewwith CNN. “There will be other years to do that, but not this year.“As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says there are currently no plans to cancel theTimes SquareNew Year’s Eve event despite arisein COVID-19 cases linked to the highly contagious Omicron variant.During a Thursday morning interview onToday, De Blasio said the city is moving ahead with thescaled back celebrationannounced last week.De Blasio explained that rather than shut down the city, he’s focused on getting even more New Yorkers vaccinated.“We want to show that we’re moving forward, and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this,” he said.BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty ImagesAs previously announced, this year’s celebration will only be open to vaccinated attendees, who will be mandated to wear masks at all times and socially distance at the outdoor venue.The number of attendees has also been cut down to 15,000 people, which is significantly lower than the 58,000 people the event typically hosts a year. Additionally, visitors won’t be allowed entry into the event until 3 p.m., which is much later than in previous years.When askedduring hisTodayinterview if there have been any discussions about further reducing the size of the celebration or canceling it altogether, the mayor said there have not been, explaining that the decision to hold the event was “made with our health care team.“Citing “all of those layers of protection,” de Blasio added, “our health care leadership believes this is the right way to do it.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.While New York’s party plans are still on, experts havewarnedAmericans to call off their own New Year’s Eve plans. With U.S. covid cases hitting arecord highThursday, officials like infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci are cautioning against hosting and attending large indoor gatherings.“When you’re talking about a New Year’s Eve party where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of their vaccination, I would recommend strongly: Stay away from that this year,” Fauci said ina Monday interviewwith CNN. “There will be other years to do that, but not this year.“As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says there are currently no plans to cancel theTimes SquareNew Year’s Eve event despite arisein COVID-19 cases linked to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
During a Thursday morning interview onToday, De Blasio said the city is moving ahead with thescaled back celebrationannounced last week.
De Blasio explained that rather than shut down the city, he’s focused on getting even more New Yorkers vaccinated.
“We want to show that we’re moving forward, and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through this,” he said.
BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images
As previously announced, this year’s celebration will only be open to vaccinated attendees, who will be mandated to wear masks at all times and socially distance at the outdoor venue.
The number of attendees has also been cut down to 15,000 people, which is significantly lower than the 58,000 people the event typically hosts a year. Additionally, visitors won’t be allowed entry into the event until 3 p.m., which is much later than in previous years.
When askedduring hisTodayinterview if there have been any discussions about further reducing the size of the celebration or canceling it altogether, the mayor said there have not been, explaining that the decision to hold the event was “made with our health care team.”
Citing “all of those layers of protection,” de Blasio added, “our health care leadership believes this is the right way to do it.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
While New York’s party plans are still on, experts havewarnedAmericans to call off their own New Year’s Eve plans. With U.S. covid cases hitting arecord highThursday, officials like infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci are cautioning against hosting and attending large indoor gatherings.
“When you’re talking about a New Year’s Eve party where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of their vaccination, I would recommend strongly: Stay away from that this year,” Fauci said ina Monday interviewwith CNN. “There will be other years to do that, but not this year.”
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
