“We have just been in so long.”The mostly muted New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world ushered in the fourth calendar year framed by the global pandemic. More than 285 million people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide since late 2019 and more than 5 million have died. France, Britain, Portugal and Australia were among countries that set new records for COVID-19 infections as 2021 gave way to 2022. In London, officials said as many as 1 in 15 people were infected with the virus in the week before Christmas. Yet boisterous New Year’s Eve celebrations kicked off in the Serbian capital of Belgrade where, unlike elsewhere in Europe, mass gatherings were allowed despite fears of the omicron variant.
