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The
75-foot (23-meter) tall Norway spruce arrived at Rockefeller
Center in the early morning hours accompanied by a police escort
along the 185-mile (298-km) route from Oneonta, New York.
A lighting ceremony for the 11-ton tree is planned at
Rockefeller Plaza for Dec. 2, according to NBC, whose
headquarters stand in front of the plaza and which will televise
the event.
In-person spectators will not be allowed at the ceremony, which
usually draws hundreds of holiday well-wishers, this year due to
the coronavirus pandemic, the network said. However, visitors
should be able to visit the tree during the holiday season.
The holiday cheer comes amid a resurgence in the pandemic.
Coronavirus infections in the United States are at their peak,
with 139,953 new cases reported each day. Since the pandemic
began, there have been more than 10 million infections and over
244,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the United States.
Every year, the Rockefeller Center tree is decorated with
thousands of lights on a five-mile-long (8-km-long) wire and
topped with a large star. It is visited by millions of tourists
and New York residents.
This year's tree was donated by Daddy Al's General Store in
Oneonta.
(Reporting by Arlene Eiras; writing by Diane Craft; editing by
Jonathan Oatis)
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