New Year's celebrations toned down as COVID cases hit record highs
CBSN
2022 is the third calendar year of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. In New York City, there were only about 15,000 revelers in Times Square to see the ball drop to ring in the new year — as COVID cases there have skyrocketed in recent weeks.
At the Vatican Saturday morning, crowds were limited as Pope Francis conducted New Year's Day Mass. On Friday, the pope canceled his traditional New Year's Eve visit to the nativity scene in St. Peter's Square to discourage large crowds from forming.
Nationwide in the U.S., the average number of new virus cases has nearly quadrupled since December 1, when the Omicron variant was first detected in the country.
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