Orlando NYE parties go on despite omicron surge
New Year's Eve celebrations across Central Florida
Main Street in Daytona Beach expects thousands to watch the ball drop at midnight. The event, lost to COVID-19 last year, has made a triumphant return. In Downtown Orlando, while the Orange Ball Drop has been canceled, Church Street bars are open for business and other locations such as Wall Street and Thornton Park expect big turnouts.
ORLANDO, Fla. - A spike in COVID-19 cases is hitting right before New Year’s Eve, but a lot of Central Florida parties are scheduled to go on as planned.
Local businesses are trying to figure out what the crowds might look like.
Officials say the iconic Orange Ball drop in Downtown Orlando is not happening because of construction, but Church Street bars will be open.
Wall Street is hosting its big block party, and in Thornton Park, celebrations will also take over the streets.
"We get the overflow from everything," said Devon Tillman, who owns Island Time.
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Tillman says with the increase in COVID-19 cases, he’s not sure how many people will be at the block party, but he hopes it’s in the thousands.
"Hopefully, people are staying safe, and we are respecting each other and staying apart as much as we can," he said.
Down on International Drive, the owner of ICEBAR Orlando says he thinks he’ll have a record year.
"Because it’s a Friday, there’s more travelers in town than there were last year," Tom Kerr explained.
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Kerr says his VIP tickets for New Year’s Eve sold out last month but because of COVID-19, he’ll still keep the crowd under capacity.
"We’ve just reinforced our protocols. We haven’t really let down our guard as far as what we're doing internally," Kerr said.
With plenty of parties going on across Central Florida, some say they still plan to stay home.
"Skipping the big party but doing the big party at the house," Alex Delgado, who’s visiting with family from Texas, said.
"Staying in…I don’t want to catch Corona,’" Tyandra Porter, from Pennsylvania, said.
City District Orlando says masks will be available for anyone who wants one but each individual restaurant and bar is responsible for its own COVID-19 safety measures.
Watch FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.