Here’s how Australians are marking New Year’s Eve in a year dominated by COVID-19

Coronavirus restrictions are largely determining how millions of people across Australia are seeing in 2021.

And the impact is greatest in Sydney and Melbourne as both cities deal with COVID-19 clusters.

Sydney’s Circular Quay would normally be shoulder-to-shoulder with revellers, jostling for prime position to see the New Year’s Eve (NYE) harbour fireworks, but this evening it is empty, with an exclusion zone around the area.

Harbourside locations are fenced off, popular parks are closed and a strict permit system in place for anyone who sets foot in the CBD.

The strict measures are in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases in Sydney after a new cluster emerged in the inner west.