Dec 29, 2021 - World

Music banned at New Year's venues in Greece amid COVID surge

Erin Doherty

People wears masks as Greece increase restrictions against coronavirus (Covid-19) in Athens, Greece on December 27, 2021 — People mostly masked up in Athens on Dec. 27. Photo: Ayhan Mehmet/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

New Year's celebrations in Greece will look a little different this year amid surging COVID-19 cases, largely driven by the Omicron variant.

Driving the news: Standing customers and music will be banned at bars, nightclubs and restaurants, which will close at 2am on Jan. 1, Greece's health minister said Wednesday, Reuters reports.

All public New Year's celebrations planned by municipalities have also been canceled, including the annual fireworks show over the Acropolis in Athens, CNN reports.
Under the new restrictions, entertainment venues will be required to close at midnight beginning on Thursday, with the exception of New Year's.

The big picture: The new restrictions come after Greece tallied a new daily record of 21,657 cases on Tuesday, more than double compared to the previous day, per Reuters.

The additional COVID-19 restrictions were originally slated to go into effect on Jan. 3, but will now go into effect on Thursday due to the rapidly rising case numbers, AP reports.
"These measures, if they are applied in our entirety, will allow us from mid-January to go back to our normal lives," Health Minister Thanos Plevris said during a news conference.
Health officials last week also announced mandatory mask-wearing in public spaces.

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Music banned at New Year's venues in Greece amid COVID surge

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