Australia Celebrates 2021 With Unlucky Celebrations

Fireworks color around the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge on New Year's Eve amid the COVID-19 pandemic (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - As usual, Australia is welcoming 2021 to a festive celebration, as COVID-19 restrictions and border closings in the country's two most populous states force families to cancel New Year's plans.

Local media reported on a traffic jam at a border checkpoint that stretches for 40 km (25 miles) as people rushed home to avoid border restrictions that start at midnight.

New South Wales (NSW), the epicenter of the latest outbreak, reported three cases of COVID-19 overnight from more than 32,000 COVID-19 tests.

"The strong message from us is to be on high alert, go ahead and be tested with the mildest symptoms," NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney, urging people to wear masks.

The fireworks in Sydney take place over deserted streets as gatherings are prohibited, while Harbor uses only 20 percent of the boats normally seen on New Year's Eve, authorities said.

Meanwhile, the state of Victoria reported no new cases of the virus in the 24 hours to midnight, although authorities expect the number to increase in the coming days.

The state has a cluster of eight cases, with some believed to be linked to the Sydney outbreak.

The outbreaks in two states occurred after weeks without community transmission.

"The NSW network is still the main line of our investigation for this outbreak," said Martin Foley, health minister for the state of Victoria, who this week limited indoor gatherings to 15 people and reintroduced mandatory use of masks indoors.

"We hope genome testing will be carried out in the near future."

The state of South Australia on Thursday said the infection in Sydney had seen it put up tight borders with NSW starting Friday.

Australia has reported more than 28,400 cases of COVID-19 and 909 deaths since the pandemic began.