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In many places, New Year’s Eve celebrations were muted or cancelled for the second straight year due to a surge of coronavirus infections, this time driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant

Fireworks are seen over Sydney harbour during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia.Wendell Teodoro @ZEDUCE//Getty Images

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Fireworks light up the sky over Sydney Harbour as the clock strikes midnight in Sydney, Australia.Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

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People gather at Westminster Bridge while the London Eye is seen behind, during New Year's Eve celebrations in London, Britain.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters

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Security guards check COVID-19 vaccine passes and identification documents at a nightclub, during New Year's Eve celebrations in London, Britain.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters

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People drink at an outdoor bar in Trafalgar Square during New Year's Eve celebrations in London, Britain.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters

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Youths hold placards with numbers to form the year 2022 to urge youngsters between the ages of 15 to 18 to get vaccinated against the Covid-19 coronavirus on the eve of the New Year 2022 in Ahmedabad.SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images

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Crowds of people celebrate the New Year around the Christmas tree with the St. Sofia Cathedral in the background in Kyiv, Ukraine.Efrem Lukatsky/The Canadian Press

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Fireworks light up the Taiwan skyline and Taipei 101 during New Year's Eve celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan.Gene Wang/Getty Images

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A woman wearing a face mask walks with a child past a 2022 installation on New Year's Eve at a shopping mall in Beijing, China.FLORENCE LO/Reuters

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Athletes start the Sao Silvestre international race in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 15-kilometer race, held annually on New Year's Eve but suspended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, was closed to the public as a safety precaution but all runners were fully vaccinated.Marcelo Chello/The Associated Press

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A man takes a picture of 6,500 candle lights as he prepares for a ceremony to wish for an end to the pandemic and good luck in the upcoming New Year at Hasedera Buddhist temple south of Tokyo.KIM KYUNG-HOON/Reuters

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People gather at the security entrance in Times Square ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations in the Manhattan borough of New York City.STEFAN JEREMIAH/Reuters

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A general view of the near empty Times Square ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City.STEFAN JEREMIAH/Reuters

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This picture taken with a fisheye lens shows people awaiting the New Year's Eve fireworks show below Burj Khalifa in Dubai.KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

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A visitor wearing a face mask poses for a photo in front of an illuminated decorations on New Year's Eve in Seoul, South Korea.Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press

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A man enjoys New Year's Eve during sunset in Loei province, Thailand.CHALINEE THIRASUPA/Reuters

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Customers queue on New Year's Eve at the oliebollen drive-thru of the Haarlemse Bakker in the Waarderpolder, in Haarlem. Most Dutch people have a bowl of oliebollen on the table on New Year's Eve.RAMON VAN FLYMEN/AFP/Getty Images

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Revelers gather in Times Square in New York.Craig Ruttle/The Associated Press

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A vendor wears a pair of 2022 glasses to advertise a festive accessories store on New Year's Eve in Tel Aviv, Israel.Oded Balilty/The Associated Press

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A couple takes a selfie picture along the Champs-Elysees Avenue on New Year's Eve in Paris, France.JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP/Getty Images

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Street vendors wait for customers during New Year's Eve celebrations in central Istanbul.DILARA SENKAYA/Reuters

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Citizens enjoy the New Year's performance on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.Cha Song Ho/The Associated Press

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A couple stands ahead of the Eiffel Tower lit up in blue to mark the French presidency of the European Union during the New Year's Eve in Paris, France.JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP/Getty Images

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A couple look out of the apartment window as police patrol the area in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, before midnight.Shiraaz Moahmed/The Associated Press

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A man rides a motorcycle past New Year's Eve decorations reading '2022' along a main street in the northern suburb of Shubra in Cairo, Egypt.KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

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New Year's Eve fireworks go off outside the Colosseum in Rome.Andrew Medichini/The Associated Press

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People hold a lit sparkler on New Year's Eve outside the Colosseum in Rome.ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images

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Pyrotechnics operate at midnight with no live audience during televised-only New Year's Eve celebrations held near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.Adam Berry/Getty Images

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People enjoy the atmosphere as neon lights read 'Happy 2022' at Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid.Pablo Blazquez/Getty Images

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