New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) says he's hopeful this year's New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square will go forward despite concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
De Blasio spoke with CNN's New Day on Wednesday as New York has been setting new records for the number of new COVID-19 cases. He said the city is currently working with health-care leaders in planning the event, which would take place outdoors with vaccines required. "We're looking to add additional measures to make it even safer, so we're still in discussions," de Blasio said. "If we're able to figure out the right formula to keep people safe, that's what we're working on right now."
The New York City mayor didn't specify what additional health and safety measures may be added, but he said he's "hopeful" the event will still happen. He added, "We should not assume the answer to Omicron is shutdown. We should assume the answer to Omicron is find the measures that work to keep things moving."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
De Blasio on MSNBC said he believes it's "important to send a message" that "we can continue as a city and as a society" by continuing to hold the New Year's Eve event. A decision is expected to be made before Christmas. De Blasio also told CNN city officials are "not telling people to hide or hunker down or surrender to this situation" amid the Omicron surge, and those who are vaccinated should "keep living because we're not going to shut down. I want to be very clear."
The comments come after Fox announced it would cancel its planned New Year's Eve special, with the network saying the "recent velocity of the spread of Omicron cases has made it impossible to produce a live special in Times Square that meets our standards."
-
The app tackling porn addictionUnder the Radar Blending behavioural science with cutting-edge technology, Quittr is part of a growing abstinence movement among men focused on self-improvement
-
Magazine solutions - August 29, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 29, 2025
-
Magazine printables - August 29, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 29, 2025
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
