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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — After a year off because of the pandemic, First Night Boston is back in-person again.
Mayor Michelle Wu said in a press conference on Thursday that some changes had to be made because of the pandemic. The main change to this year's festivities is that all First Night events that would traditionally be held inside are being moved outdoors.
The state's COVID cases have been skyrocketing in the last few days, setting new single-day records on several days since last Wednesday. The latest state single-day case count on Wednesday evening was more than 15,000 cases, shattering even the highest recent record counts.
Wu also announced two vaccination clinics in the Copley Square area run with the Whittier St. Health Center that will be giving out COVID vaccines starting at noon on New Year's Eve. The first, run in Copley square, will give out vaccines from noon to 7:00 PM in Copley Square, and the second will run between 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM from inside the nearby Boston Public Library. First Night will also be giving out a thousand free COVID tests to attendees.
Wu said she was "overjoyed" to be bringing the First Night festivities back. The event was run virtually last year.
Though the city was "strongly recommending" being vaccinated, there will be no COVID vaccine requirement to attend.
A first round of fireworks begin at 7:00 PM, along with the main event at midnight. As traffic will probably be affected, officials are asking those coming to take the MBTA, which will be free after 8:00 PM.
WBZ's Karyn Regal (@karynregal) has more:
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