This Country Is Prohibiting Music At New Year's Events Due To Covid

Greece is implementing an unusual restriction in an attempt to contain COVID-19 and the rampant Omicron variant -- a music ban.

On Wednesday, Greece’s health minister said that music will be prohibited at all commercial New Year's events to coincide with new restrictions announced in response to a rapid increase in COVID-19 infections.

The protocols were initially intended to go into effect Jan. 3, 2022, but as the number of daily cases increased to almost 22,000 on Tuesday, the restrictions will be imposed sooner in an effort to slow the spread of the highly transmissible strain.

“Omicron is now the dominant variant in terms of new infections,” Health Minister Thanos Plevris said during a live stream, as reported by ABC News.

Entertainment venues will be forced to close at midnight starting Thursday, but they will be allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. for New Year's Eve.

Some restrictions have been relaxed in the country. After the Health Ministry committee evaluated the proposals put forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), members suggested that infected individuals only need to quarantine for five days, as long as they show mild or no symptoms.

Omicron is the most contagious variant of COVID-19 and is quickly becoming the world's most dominant strain, infecting both the vaccinated and unvaccinated since it was first identified last month in South Africa.

Worldwide coronavirus cases hit a new daily record on Monday as nearly 1.5 million cases were reported.