America is now posting about 100,000 new cases of COVID-19 each day. Just a couple of months ago, that number was around 11,000 per day. 93% of the new cases are the delta variant. New pediatric COVID-19 cases jumped up 84% in one week.
Dr Anthony Fauci says that unless we get a handle on the delta variant, and soon, the coronavirus will have time to morph again. This time, it could change into something more severe, something that could escape the vaccines according to the Poynter.
The wave of new infections might interrupt the reopening of business in America. The International Auto Show that was to be held on Wednesday in New York was cancelled.
Deloitte Research finds that by the end of 2022, most businesses expect to only be doing about 75% of the travel they did in 2019. This data could be vitally important to every one of your communities that rely on conventions and visitors. The shockwaves will ripple through hotels, restaurants, taxi and ride-share services, airlines and convention centers.
In Boston, the people who oversee conventions said that there is light at the end of the tunnel. San Diego reopened its convention despite the Covid-19 spike. Hotel planners in Las Vegas are nervous about the latest Covid-19 outbreak.
Since January, there have been 21 events cancelled with more than 300,000 attendees and a $667 million impact. A big nursing convention cancelled its meeting in Orlando. The economic impact of the cancelled nurse’s convention was more than $12 million, and bring about 5,000 people.
For more than a year, the convention center was used as a Covid-19 testing and vaccination site.
Businesses somehow figured out a way to keep going without sending employees here and there on airplanes. And now businesses are saying, “Maybe we didn’t need to do all of that travel.”
Sure, some travel is necessary because some relationships are face to face. And some business travel is necessary to maintain equipment or conduct in-person training. But there are lots of other reasons that business travel will be slow to make a comeback.
Travel restrictions, especially for international travel, make it difficult and unpredictable. Hotel and airfare rates are high. There is no internationally accepted vaccination passport.
In a new poll by Kaiser Family Foundation, it was found that half of the unvaccinated Americans believe that the vaccine is worse than the virus itself.
U.S Health Authorities have not approved or recommended a booster yet, although the vaccine makers believe it is a good idea.
