- People should enjoy New Year’s Eve – at home or with friends complying with rules – Councillor for Citizen Protection, Aarón Cano
Alicante, Elche and Valencia have cancelled all New Year’s Eve parties – due to the increase of coronavirus in the Valencian Community.
Other municipalities could also make decisions and following suit, with restrictions leading to cancellations of a plethora of events on New Year’s Eve, that will affect thousands of people in central squares of the main cities of the region.
The Generalitat Valenciana does not contemplate the reintroduction of time and capacity limitations, at present.
The new Omicron coronavirus increase in cases has put additional pressure on hospitals with an ongoing worrying health situation.
All the regional presidents will meet on Wednesday to analyse the situation deemed as ‘share decisions.’
The Valencian Community faces Christmas with double the number of active cases of coronavirus recorded in 2020.
For the second consecutive year, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento de Valencia will be closed to the public on December 31, a decision undertaken with the aim of preventing members of the public from swarming to the city to drink the grapes.
“People should enjoy New Year’s Eve – at home or with friends but complying with the rules,” said Councillor for Citizen Protection, Aarón Cano.
The municipal government, led by Joan Ribó, has also decided to suspend the traditional San Silvestre, although the New Year’s Eve for children is scheduled to be held at noon.
On January 6, the Three Kings Parade will take place under a decreased format – without seats for the public and fewer participating floats.
Alicante and Elche
Alicante City Council has also cancelled their New Year’s Eve party due to be staged in the town hall square.
There will be a childrens scenography show, with reduced capacity, and in compliance with all the current sanitary measures.
“Prudence and caution – with the responsibility of citizens and visitors during Christmas” was the message from the Alicante government.
Elche City Council also decided to cancel the San Silvestre Ilicitana and the New Year’s Eve events – to avoid the risk of possible contagion in some events scheduled to attract big crowds.
Plaça de Baix will remain closed during the night of December 31.
According to the latest data published by the Conselleria de Sanidad Universal y Salud Pública, these three cities all present a cumulative incidence close to the threshold that marks the extreme or very high risk of virus transmission.
In the case of Valencia, it stands at 494 positives per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days, with Elche recording 429 cases and Alicante 416 cases, up to December 20.
