London’s New Year’s Eve celebration event in Trafalgar Square will not take place because of the surge in cases of the Omicron Covid variant in the capital, AzVision.az reports citing the Independent.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said the event, which was set to be open to around 6,500 key workers and members of the public, had to be cancelled because “we must take the right steps to reduce the spread of the virus”.
He declared a major incident in London on Saturday amid 65,525 new confirmed cases in the past seven days and the impact of the surge on frontline services.
A 29% increase in London hospital admissions had also been recorded in the last week.
Mr Khan said: “With infections of Covid-19 at record levels across our city and the UK, I’m determined to work closely with partners in our city to do everything we possibly can to slow the spread of the new variant and ensure our NHS services are not overwhelmed this winter.
“This means that we will no longer be hosting a celebration event for 6,500 people on Trafalgar Square this New Year’s Eve. This will be very disappointing for many Londoners, but we must take the right steps to reduce the spread of the virus. I’m proud that we will still have an incredible broadcast spectacular to watch on our screens, which will showcase our great city to the rest of the world."
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