New Year celebrations begin around the world

A child watches fireworks at Alexandra Garden during New Year's Eve celebrations even as Australia's most populous state reported a 73% surge in new Covid-19 cases on Friday, an unwelcome spike that is casting a cloud on New Year festivities as authorities urge residents to still party on. (Source: Getty Images)

A child watches fireworks at Alexandra Garden during New Year's Eve celebrations even as Australia's most populous state reported a 73% surge in new Covid-19 cases on Friday, an unwelcome spike that is casting a cloud on New Year festivities as authorities urge residents to still party on. (Source: Getty Images)

A light show from the Skytower and harbour bridge during Auckland New Year's Eve celebrations on January 01, 2022 in Auckland as New Zealand prepares to ease its COVID-19 pandemic controls and global isolation after nearly two years. (Source: Getty Images)

6,500 candle lights were lit in Japan for a ceremony to wish for overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and good luck in the upcoming New Year. Infections with the Omicron variant have been reported across 22 out of 47 prefectures in Japan, one month after the first case was reported. (Source: Reuters)

Israel has begun delivering a fourth vaccine dose for people most vulnerable to coronavirus, becoming one of the first countries to do so as it prepares for a wave of infections driven by the omicron variant. (Source: AP)

A view of the 2022 Logo in Wuhan international plaza. Cities across China are cancelling New Year’s Eve celebrations to try to minimise Covid-19 infection risks, and people are being discouraged from travelling for the Lunar New Year break in the first week of February. (Source: Getty Images)

New Year's Eve celebrations continue to be different in Australia as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place due to a surge in the Omicron variant of the coronavirus pandemic. (Source: Getty Images)

Fireworks explode over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge as New Year's Eve celebrations begin in Sydney. (Source: AP)

Hours before the New Year celebrations were due to begin, Australian health authorities reported a record 32,000 new virus cases, many of them in Sydney. (Source: Reuters)