How to Meet Safe: Helpful COVID Web Sites

August 20, 2021

COVID continues to impact live meetings. These web sites offer updated information and strategies for health and safety.

There is a wealth of resources for planners to stay on top of the constantly evolving COVID pandemic and figure out how to plan and implement safe meetings and events. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a good place to start. In May, the CDC revised its comprehensive Guidance for Organizing Large Events and Gatherings. This includes detailed information on how to promote healthy behaviors and maintain healthy environments at a group event, and strategies to implement if an attendee gets sick during or after. The CDC also posts the latest COVID updates and its CDC COVID data tracker provides an integrated, county view of key data for monitoring the pandemic in the United States.

Planners looking to ensure health and safety protocols at host hotels can check out VERIFIED, the health-security program from Forbes Travel Guide and the digital health company Sharecare. The comprehensive assessment of hotels includes health and hygiene protocols, cleaning products and procedures, masks and PPE, ventilation, management accountability and health safety communication with guests and employees.

The U.S. travel industry, working with health and medical experts, has a core set of COVID health and safety guidelines, updated regularly.

Several web sites provide data on on meetings taking place during the pandemic. The Meetings: Accomplished platform is a compilation of completed face-to-face meetings held by corporations, associations and organizations. Similarly, the Meet Safe platform tracks in-person events safely taking place amid COVID. The interactive Global Event Tracker visually illustrates trade show and event attendance in key trade show cities around the world.

Travel advisories are constantly changing. American Express Global Business Travel monitors evolving travel guidance and government requirements on Travel Vitals, allowing users to search across different components of a trip for information and advisories. Interactive country and state maps from Riskline quickly communicate COVID infection and travel restriction intelligence.

The Mayo Clinic has a U.S. COVID-19 map on its web site that includes the total number of cases in the U.S. since the pandemic began and forecasts hot spots and trends. All data and predictions include the Delta variant and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. The Mayo Clinic also has a COVID-19 vaccine tracker.