NYC considers more COVID-19 restrictions for New Year's Eve in Times Square

Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to decide this week if the city will implement further limits on the iconic New Year's Eve celebration that draws thousands of people to Times Square.

De Blasio announced last month that only fully vaccinated people would be admitted to the event. As the numbers of COVID-19 cases rise, there is a possibility of more restrictions.

Millions of people will watch the seven-foot "2022" and accompanying ball drop on television. The numbers were transported from California by road and contain nearly 600 LED bulbs.

"Right now, it is on, fully vaccinated, outdoors of course. That's the plan. And if we need to make any more modifications, we will decide that within the course of this week," de Blasio told ABC on Monday.

"For the New Year's Eve celebration, that the eyes of the world are on, we have what we've done historically for years and years, we have the kind of model we used last year. We are looking at anything that will make this work best."

He said any further restrictions related to the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant would be announced prior to Christmas Day on Saturday.

Crews began setting up for a traditional New Year's Eve celebration on Monday afternoon.