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New Year's Eve souvenirs are sold in Times Square in New York (Photo: AFP/Bryan R Smith) - 

The world prepared on Friday (Dec 31) to usher in 2022, after another tumultuous and pandemic ridden year capped by new restrictions, soaring case numbers, and a slight glimmer of hope for better times ahead.

The eventful last 12 months saw a new US president and a new Adele album, the first spectator-free Olympics, and dreams of democracy from Afghanistan to Myanmar to Hong Kong crushed by authoritarian regimes.

But it was the pandemic, now entering its third year, that again dominated life for most of humankind.

Over 5.4 million people have died since the coronavirus was first reported in central China in Dec 2019.

Countless more have been sickened, subjected to outbreaks, lockdowns, lock-ins and an alphabet spaghetti of PCR, LFT and RAT tests.

Hope came as life-saving vaccines were rolled out to around 60 per cent of the world's population, although many of its poor still have limited access, and some of its rich believe the jabs are part of some ill-defined plot.

But as 2021 drew to a close, the emergence of the Omicron variant pushed the number of daily new COVID-19 cases past one million for the first time, according to an AFP tally.

Britain, the United States, and even Australia, long a refuge from the pandemic, are breaking records for new cases.

From Seoul to San Francisco, New Year's Eve celebrations have again been cancelled or curtailed.

In Rio, celebrations that usually bring three million people to Copacabana Beach, will go ahead.

Like at New York's Times Square, official events in the Brazilian city will be scaled back, but crowds of revellers are still expected.

"People have only one desire, to leave their homes, to celebrate life after a pandemic that has forced everyone to lock themselves up," 45 year old Copacabana beach waiter Francisco Rodrigues said.

Some Brazilians are more circumspect, after one of the world's most deadly outbreaks that left 618,000 dead.

"There will be lots of people on Copacabana," said 27 year old lawyer Roberta Assis. "It's inevitable."

She said she plans to go to a friend's house with a small group, adding: "It's not the moment for large gatherings."

Australia's largest city Sydney has also decided to press ahead with a firework display that will light up the city's iconic harbour.

Unlike last year's spectator-free event, tens of thousands of revellers are expected to crowd the foreshore.

Australian authorities say their abrupt U-turn abandoning "COVID-19-zero" in favour of "living with COVID-19" is based on high rates of adult vaccination and mounting evidence that Omicron is less deadly.

The dramatic reversal mirrors a wider trend that has seen leaders of Western countries in particular hesitant to bring back the strict controls of 2020, to avoid a new economic downturn.

But in the on-off reality of COVID-19 restrictions, 2021 saw a rise in anti-lockdown protests while a minority remained hesitant to get vaccinated, raising the question of how the pandemic can ever end if inoculation rates plateau.

It was not all doom and gloom, however. In South Africa, the first country to report the new variant, a midnight to 4:00 am curfew was lifted to allow celebrations to go ahead.

Health officials there said that a dip in infections in the past week indicated the peak of the current wave had passed.

Experts hope that trend will be replicated elsewhere and that 2022 may be remembered as a new, less deadly phase of the pandemic.

But the World Health Organization has warned of trying times ahead.

"I am highly concerned that Omicron, being more transmissible, circulating at the same time as Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"This is and will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health systems on the brink of collapse."//CNA

Police patrol in front of the Sydney Opera House on Monday, Sep 13, 2021. (Photo: AFP) - 

Sydney, the Australian city worst-affected by the Omicron wave, will press ahead with New Year's Eve celebrations on Friday (Dec 31), with authorities encouraging revellers to come out and enjoy the festivities despite a record number of COVID-19 cases.

Thousands are expected to flock to prime harbourside spots to watch Sydney's famous fireworks, the traditional 12-minute pyrotechnic display to ring in the new year, with queues forming at many vantage points since early morning.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison wished people to "enjoy the evening", while NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet urged everyone to "head out and enjoy New Year's" as daily infections in the state nearly doubled to a record 21,151 on Friday.

Many countries have scaled back New Year celebrations in an effort to contain rampant contagion from the Omicron coronavirus variant, but celebrations will proceed in Sydney as normal after last year's plans were toned down due to COVID-19.

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales (NSW) state, is one of the world's first major cities to welcome each New Year, with a public countdown and fireworks display over its iconic Opera House.

All Australian states, except for Western Australia, have begun to live with the virus after higher vaccination levels and the ease in restrictions has pushed cases to record highs.

Despite the record surge, Perrottet on Friday reiterated NSW is "in a very strong position" due to higher inoculations and that hospitals were coping with the Omicron wave.

"While case numbers are substantially increasing, compared to where we were with the Delta variant, our position remains incredibly strong," Perrottet told reporters.

Of more than 135,000 active cases in Australia, only 127 people are in intensive care, according to official data.

Australia on Friday reported more than 32,400 cases, a new pandemic high, far exceeding the previous record of 21,329 a day earlier as total infections neared 400,000. A total of 2,239 deaths have been registered since the pandemic began//CNA

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz poses for photographs during the television recording of his annual New Year's speech at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany December 30, 2021. Kay Nietfeld/Pool via REUTERS - 

Germany wants to use its presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) to develop it into a club that is pioneering in its efforts to achieve green growth and a socially just world, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his first New Year's address.

"Starting tomorrow, Germany will for one year take over the presidency of the group of seven economically strong, democratic states - the G7," Scholz said in his speech on Friday, according to a pre-released transcript from the government's press office.

"We will use our presidency so that this group of states becomes a pioneer - a pioneer for a climate-neutral way of doing business and a fair world," Scholz said.

In his previous roles as vice chancellor and finance minister, Scholz suggested that the European Union should team up with countries like the United States, Canada and Japan to create a "climate club" in which members agree joint rules and common standards on how to reduce carbon emissions.

The goal of such a club would be not only to accelerate the global shift towards a more climate-friendly economy, but also to avoid trade friction linked to different green tariff regimes, such as the EU's planned carbon border levy.

"International cooperation is important. In a world that will soon be home to 10 billion people, our voices will only be heard if we perform in a choir with many others," Scholz said.

That is also the reason why Germany's new coalition government is determined to strengthen the European Union, said Scholz, who succeeded long-serving former Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month.

"Our goal is a sovereign, strong Europe. A Europe that lives according to its common values of peace, the rule of law and democracy," the chancellor added.

On the issue of Ukraine, where Western countries are concerned by a Russian military build-up near the border, Scholz reiterated that the territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected. Germany would continue to work closely with transatlantic allies to guarantee peace, he said.

"With a view on Ukraine, we are currently facing new challenges. The inviolability of borders is a high good - and not negotiable," Scholz said.

Russia denies planning to attack Ukraine and says it has the right to move its troops on its own soil as it likes//CNA

A person enters Copernicus Lodge after new provincial rules limiting visitations at long term care homes come into effect due to spiking coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case numbers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada December 30, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio - 

Canada's Ontario and Quebec announced fresh measures to combat COVID-19 on Thursday (Dec 30) as the country faces a rise in cases that has forced tens of thousands into isolation, made tests difficult to access and burdened its healthcare sector.

Quebec, Canada's second-most populous province, will ban private gatherings and dining out, as well as impose a night curfew from New Year's Eve in an escalation of curbs to rein in rapidly rising coronavirus cases due to the Omicron variant.

"Our experts tell us that there's a risk that we won't be able to treat all those who need it in the coming weeks," Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters at a briefing. "This is why I'm announcing new restrictions starting tomorrow."

Legault said indoor sports would be halted, and places of worship will be shut, except for funerals which up to 25 people will be allowed to attend.

Ontario, home to Toronto, Canada's biggest city, announced new measures to take effect on Friday, shortening the isolation period for vaccinated individuals with COVID-19 to five days from the onset of symptoms, the province's chief medical officer, Kieran Moore, told reporters at a briefing.

Ontario residents, with proper masking and physical distancing, would be allowed to stop isolating after five days if their symptoms resolve or if they are improving for at least 24 hours, Moore said.

The province, Canada's largest, will also limit free PCR tests to the most vulnerable cases. Schools, which were expected to reopen on Monday after a winter break, will stay shut for two additional days for authorities to implement preventive measures against coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Quebec, which is home to Canada's second-largest city Montreal, said it would allow some essential healthcare workers to continue working instead of isolating at home after testing positive to prevent staff shortages from crippling healthcare services.

Provinces across Canada have been reporting new daily COVID-19 case records as the highly infectious Omicron variant takes hold. On Thursday, Quebec reported 14,188 new coronavirus cases, while Ontario reported 13,807 cases.

Ontario is also starting to offer a fourth vaccine shot to residents of long-term care homes, retirement homes and other older adults living in groups three months after their third dose//CNA