Weltnachrichten – AU – World is preparing for Christmas under coronavirus restrictions

A number of new coronavirus outbreaks are souring the Christmas festivities for millions of people around the world.

Millions of people have been forced to cancel plans or cut Christmas parties as part of the new coronavirus measures after numerous new outbreaks emerged worldwide.

After a severe pandemic year with more than 1. 7 million people die from COVID-19. Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, was preparing on Thursday for a Christmas that is second to none.

Christmas Eve Mass in the Church of the Nativity is traditionally the high point of a Christmas season when hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to the Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank.

The fair will be closed to the public this year and will be broadcast online. Only clergy and selected people are allowed to enter the basilica, which was sterilized on the Thursday before the service.

A procession of bagpipers and drummers marched towards Manger Square, watched by a mostly masked Palestinian crowd who lined the streets under gray skies and a little rain.

Christmas Eve Mass in the Church of the Nativity will be closed to the public [Hazem Bader / AFP] « Despite the fear, the frustration of COVID, we will overcome because Jesus is born in Bethlehem, » said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, during the procession.

Participant Jania Shaheen, who was in the square with her two young children and her husband, said the holiday was « different this year because we cannot pray in the Church of the Nativity ». .

« We cannot gather as a family, everyone is scared . . . It’s good to see some people here today, but compared to last year there is none. It’s only for the people of Bethlehem, ”she told the AFP news agency.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait, along with other Gulf states, launched a mass coronavirus vaccination program on Thursday as Mexico began delivering thrusts to frontline medical professionals across the Atlantic.

Australia has banned all but the smallest family gatherings for Christmas [Saeed Khan / AFP] In Australia – often a rare ray of hope to keep the virus at bay – an increasing number of cases in northern Sydney has residents on suburbs on Sea restricted and a ban on all but the smallest family gatherings for Christmas.

Jimmy Arslan, who owns two cafes in the epicenter of the city’s outbreak, said trade had declined 75 percent and his Canberra-based family had been forced to cancel their Christmas visit.

« It’s heartbreaking. It’s a very, very sour end to a sour year, « the 46-year-old told AFP.

Germany has been forced to cancel its famous Christmas markets, and Pope Francis plans to bring the Vatican midnight mass two hours forward to meet Italy’s curfew.

In Christmas Eve messages, the Pope expressed his desire to visit the crisis-hit Lebanon and urged the political leaders in South Sudan to continue to work for peace.

Pope Francis plans to bring Christmas mass at midnight in the Vatican by two hours to meet Italy’s curfew [Guglielmo Mangiapane / Reuters] Belgium, where residents largely limit themselves to greeting a single visitor.

In the Catholic-majority Philippines, some choose to spend the holidays alone because of the risk of the virus building up on public transport and quarantine rules making travel time-consuming and expensive.

« I order food, re-watch old movies and video-capture my family, » said Kim Patria, 31, who lives alone in Manila.

Brits, meanwhile, have been cut off from parts of the world due to the emergence of a new strain of COVID-19.

Some UK border restrictions have been temporarily relaxed for the holidays, but thousands from other European countries are still stranded in England.

« At home for Christmas? Forget it, ”said Laurent Beghin, a French truck driver who delivered his cargo but was still stuck days later.

Thousands from other European countries are still stranded in England [Justin Tallis / AFP] More than a million people have been vaccinated in the United States, but the country’s coronavirus response remained chaotic when Donald Trump walked off the White House lawn flew one of the last times in his presidency.

The Republican and his wife, Melania, had to vacation at his dazzling Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after shockingly rejecting a huge coronavirus relief package passed by Congress.

The New Year celebrations are down worldwide. In the post-Christmas period, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Austria face lockdowns, while Portugal has a New Year’s Eve curfew.

Sydney currently plans to ring the bell with its famous fireworks on Harbor Bridge in 2021. New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian promises that the seven-minute spectacle will take place « no matter what ». .

But like most of 2020, people are being encouraged to watch TV from their couches.

Britons can exceptionally visit dying relatives, but many say other compassionate reasons should be considered.

According to US data, around five million people passed the security checks at the airport between Friday and Tuesday.

Millions of Filipinos hold on to their beliefs as they defy warnings that mass gatherings could hasten transmission.

Christmas Day, Bethlehem, Coronavirus