VIDEO: As Delta Variant Spreads, Should We Be Lifting Restrictions?

What Countries Are Open?

See what countries and international destinations are reopening or adjusting their COVID-19 restrictions by heading to our roundup of the latest updates throughout the world. 

In the latest installment of this ongoing video series, Northstar invites you into our global content team's biweekly meetings to hear the latest updates in major international meetings markets. This week, Loren Edelstein, vice president and content director of Northstar Meetings Group, chats with Paul Harvey, U.K.-based editor for Meetings & Incentive Travel.
 
Here's what we discussed:
 
• Half of planners are holding hybrid events or plan to do so, per preliminary results of Northstar's latest PULSE Survey (closing soon; share your experiences today). (0:35)
 
• About 47 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated; vaccination rates vary by state, with democratic states generally higher. (See Northstar's state-by-state roundup on gathering restrictions.) (3:25)
 
• July 19 is Freedom Day in the U.K., and all Covid protocols will be lifted. (See Northstar's list of restrictions by country.) (4:58)
 
• Reaction from U.K. planners is mixed, with some arguing that the government is shirking responsibility and others anxious to resume "normal" business operations. (6:50)
 
• The Delta variant is surging in the U.K., with more than 2,500 new cases per day and growing rapidly. (8:05)
 
• The U.K. government has moved the onus for safety onto the public themselves. (10:52)
 
• Masks won't be required in the U.K., even on public transport — which has caused some public backlash. (11:28)
 
• The Events Research Program will publish guidance "at a later date" on what event planners can or can't do with respect to U.K. protocols. (13:10)