Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Joel mchale and ken jeong

New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022is yet anothermajor event that’s been canceleddue to the rising cases of COVID-19 sweeping the country, FOX announced on Tuesday.

“While we are confident in the health and safety protocols for FOX’sNew Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022, the recent velocity of the spread of Omicron cases has made it impossible to produce a live special in Times Square that meets our standards,” the network wrote in a statement.

“We will not be moving forward with FOX’sNew Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022in New York,” the statement continued. “The health and safety of our casts and crews has always been, and will continue to be, of the utmost importance. Replacement programming for New Year’s Eve on FOX will be announced in the coming days.”

FOX

Joel mchale and ken jeong

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Kelly Osbournewas also tapped to serve as a “special correspondent” for the event, which was supposed to take place live from Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

The decision comes amid the alarming surge of positive COVID-19 cases hitting the U.S. TheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention reportedthis week that the omicron variant is responsible for more than 73 percent of current cases in the country.

On Monday,the CDC saidthat they were expecting a rise in cases in the “coming days to weeks,” and that while breakthrough cases ofthe omicron variantwill likely become more common, the best way to protect yourself from the virus is to get vaccinated and get a booster shot if eligible.

As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.

source: people.com