The traditional New Year’s Eve in New York’s Times Square has been drastically scaled back. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who announced last month that the event could continue unlike last year, made this decision due to the “staggering” number of new infections.

The mayor has announced that the maximum number of visitors to Times Square on New Year’s Eve will be reduced from 58,000 to 15,000, and everyone must be fully vaccinated and wear a mask. These additional measures will allow “the pollinated crowd to ring in the new year in a safe way,” de Blasio said.

Times Square was mostly empty on New Year’s Eve last year. Only a few hundred aid workers and their families were invited as a tribute. He said last month that this year de Blasio had been hoping for a “big party full of life”.

Hundreds of thousands of people usually gather in the field to watch the “ball fall,” as a time ball descends on the flagpole 43 meters to knock on the new year.

Mayors of other world cities such as London and Paris have already decided to largely cancel New Year’s celebrations.