Two Bay Area New Year's Eve traditions have been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
San Francisco will no longer hold its annual fireworks show, while Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schulz canceled its yearly balloon drop. Officials with both events cited the need to prevent large gatherings in order to mitigate the omicron variant's spread in announcing the decisions on Tuesday.
Mayor London Breed and other city officials said San Francisco is trying to limit large public events because of staffing issues at public safety agencies stemming from COVID-19 isolation and quarantine requirements.
"Thanks to our employee vaccine mandate, our public safety workers are well-protected against COVID, but they still must take all precautions to help limit the spread," Breed said. "By canceling the New Year's Eve fireworks show we are reducing everyone's exposure to COVID-19, while ensuring continuity of citywide public safety operations."
San Francisco also canceled its New Year's Eve fireworks show last year due to the pandemic, prior to the widespread availability of vaccines. The city said in a release that 84% of San Franciscans who are at least 5 years old have been fully vaccinated, while 55% over the age of 16 have received their booster shot.
The Schultz Museum held its "Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!" event online last year due to the pandemic. It has hosted the event since 2005, and officials "were hopeful" to hold an in-person celebration this year with "heavily" reduced capacity and advance tickets.
Although Sonoma County currently has a lower rate of spread than San Francisco, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention, it also has lower vaccination and booster rates than San Francisco.
"The safety of our visitors is first and foremost, and we want to help prevent the spread of this new variant in our community," Director Gina Huntsinger said Tuesday in a release, which called the event the museum’s biggest every year.
Visitors who purchased tickets for the New Year's Eve event will be given a full refund, officials said. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 31, with COVID-19 safety regulations and festive arts and crafts spread around the museum for families.
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