Coronavirus Is Canceling New Year’s Celebrations

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New York City’s Times Square on Thursday. The city’s traditional New Year’s Eve event will not be open to the public this year as the coronavirus continues to spread.

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

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Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, Fla., Jan. 1, 2017. Key West Mayor Teri Johnston implemented a 10 p.m. curfew for New Year’s Eve. The conch won’t drop for the first time in its 28-year history.

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Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, Fla., Jan. 1, 2017. Key West Mayor Teri Johnston implemented a 10 p.m. curfew for New Year’s Eve. The conch won’t drop for the first time in its 28-year history.

AFP/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, 1,400 miles south in Key West, Fla., the conch at Sloppy Joe’s will not drop for the first time in 28 years. Key West Mayor Teri Johnston signed an emergency directive enacting a curfew, in effect from Thursday through Sunday. All nonessential businesses will be closed at 10 p.m. and people who are not on essential business are required to be home between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. Residents can walk their dogs, but must remain within 250 feet of their home.

Half-a-world away in Hawaii, the annual fireworks display in Waikiki has been canceled because of the coronavirus. In 2019 the tourism industry provided over 200,000 jobs across the state and generated over $2 billion in state tax revenue. But according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, visitor arrivals dropped 77.3% in November from the year before.

In Los Angeles County, Calif., COVID-19 hospitalizations are up almost 1,000% since October. The county reported nearly 13,000 new cases and 227 additional deaths Tuesday. Southern California has zero ICU beds available. Yet The Los Angeles Times reported that a Beverly Hills restaurant, La Scala, had placed invitations for a discreet New Year’s Eve gathering in customer’s take-out bags.

Merry Christmas everyone! La Scala’s Beverly Hills location is tucking these invitations to an indoor New Year’s Eve dinner in their takeout bags: “Please keep this discreet, but tell all your friends.” ??? pic.twitter.com/hu4cJGYxce

— Alissa Walker (@awalkerinLA) December 25, 2020

«Welcome back to the 20’s Prohibition,» the invitation read. It encouraged customers to reach out for potential New Year’s Eve dinner reservations. «Please keep this discreet, but tell all your friends.» Their invitations went viral on Twitter.

A statement posted on La Scala’s website said the notes were worded incorrectly and the restaurant never intended to violate the law. It said the restaurant hoped by New Year’s Eve conditions would allow indoor dining.

As was the case for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and other recent holidays, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people to stay home and celebrate virtually with friends and family. The COVID-19 death toll is projected to be as high as 419,000 by mid-January.