Blue and gold fireworks soared into the sky above the Sydney Opera House as they do every year, but the harbour below was a ghost town.
The city precinct has been restricted to those with restaurant and hotel bookings amid efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus.
The scaled back fireworks display was launched from barges around the harbour on Friday (January 1), as well as the iconic Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, as the state reported 10 new local COVID-19 cases.
Sydney’s virus clusters continued to grow, with the latest one in an inner-west suburb rising by three cases in the last 24 hours.
The cluster detected in the northern seaside areas in mid-December now includes nearly 150 cases.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge was the focal point for the show, with Sydney deciding to press ahead with its fireworks display although shortened to seven minutes.
Australia has reported just over 28,400 COVID-19 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began.
(Production: Stefica Nicol Bikes)