New York, Jan 3 (IANS): New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has promoted a collection of 42 pictures posted on social media by the Mayor's Office under the title of "2020-NYC The Year In Photos", at least 12 of which are about fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

"In 2020, our city faced some of the hardest, darkest, and most challenging moments in our history. But we also saw incredible moments of bravery, compassion, and hope. These are the Photos of the Year," Xinhua news agency quoted the Mayor as saying in a tweet.

The 12 photos about the pandemic fight include one in which reporters sat socially distanced as the mayor held a press conference on Covid-19 on March 17, one in which New Yorkers gathered outside Lenox Health Greenwich Village to thank healthcare workers on April 5, and another that showed the first COVID-19 vaccinations arrived in New York City on December 14.

"In 2020, New York City faced some of the most difficult moments in our history. We lost our loved ones, our livelihoods, and our way of life.

"But during the darkest of times, we also saw tremendous bravery, incredible compassion, and hope. These are the photos of the year," the office said in the preface of the web exhibition.

The other photos are about racial equality, charity, festive celebration, religious ceremony, nature conservation, public benefit and celebrities.

To send an encouraging signal, the photo show starts with a picture of de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray ringing in the New Year with a kiss in Times Square on January 1, 2020.

New York City, once the epicentre of the pandemic in the US, currently accounts for 25,186 coronavirus deaths and 431,353 confirmed cases.