Rockefeller Center Tree will be lit tonight with COVID restrictions

Rockefeller Center Tree will be lit tonight with COVID restrictions

Construction workers erect scaffolding around the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree before decorating begins, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

NEW YORK (AP) — Rockin’ around the Christmas tree is going to look different for visitors at Rockefeller Center this year, starting with Wednesday’s tree lighting ceremony. What’s normally a chaotic, crowded tourist hotspot during the holiday season will instead be a mask-mandated, time-limited, socially distanced locale due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tree is getting its holiday lights turned on in an event that will be broadcast on television but closed to the public. In the days following the lighting until the early part of January, those wishing to take a look at the tree will have to follow a host of rules.

Photo: (AP Photo/John Minchillo)