World Status Report
June 8, 2021
This report intends to give the UTD Community a snapshot of international risks, and other issues as reported by the linked official sources from the U.S. and other countries.
Please note the publication date of this report, and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information. The information in this report may change without prior notice.
Security
On 5 June, in Burkina Faso a door-to-door operation by a non-state armed group in search for civilians suspected to collaborate with security forces (‘Volontaires de Défense de la Patrie’) led to massive killing of local population in Solhan, Yagha Province, Sahel region (ERCC). UN humanitarians expressed deep concern on Friday about serious and ongoing abuses carried out against displaced civilians who are also facing dire food insecurity in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, after months of conflict (UN News). Police arrested a prominent activist, locked down a city park and placed 7,000 officers on standby as they sought to prevent Hong Kong residents from observing Friday’s anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre (WaPo)
Health
China reported a human case of avian influenza A(H10N3) virus infection – the first human case reported in the world. The US reported about a confirmed human case with A(H1N2)virus variant (A(H1N2)v) infection in Ohio. As of 31 May 2021, one new MERS-CoV case including one death has been reported by Saudi Arabia. Two WPV1 (wild poliovirus) environmental samples have been detected in Pakistan. New cases of cVDPV1 (vaccine-derived poliovirus) have been reported in Madagascar (3), Yemen(1), Afghanistan (5), Democratic Republic of the Congo (5), Burkina Faso (2), Mali (2), Benin (1), Congo (1), Guinea (1), Liberia (1), Nigeria (1), Pakistan (1), Senegal (1) and South Sudan (1). New cases of cVDPV2 (vaccine-derived poliovirus) have been reported in Liberia (5), Tajikistan (4), Afghanistan (2), Sierra Leone (2), Nigeria (1), Pakistan (1), and Senegal (1) (ECDC).
Natural Disasters
Severe weather has impacted various countries resulting in casualties, displacement and damage. A flood collapsed a mine in Mexico. Landslides in Colombia. Floods and landslides in Sri Lanka. Heavy rain and strong winds in Pakistan. Floods in Germany (ERCC).
COVID-19
International preventative measures against COVID-19, including entry restrictions and in-country mobility remain very fluid, and can be imposed without prior notice. Details for each country can be found in the travel advisories issued by the governments of the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. The UNWTO and IATA Destination Tracker offers relevant information on a destination status. The Timeline of EU Member States Reopening Their Borders offers a list of opened EU countries for travelers, and dates of warned opening.
As notable cases: Uganda’s president has introduced new lockdown measures in an effort to tackle surging coronavirus cases nationwide (NYT). Germany has exempted more fellow European Union citizens from stringent entry restrictions (Schengenvisainfo). The European Commission has announced that the EU Digital COVID-19 Passport may also be issued to non-European travellers, including those from the United States and the United Kingdom. It was also revealed that the EU Commission is in talks with the United States regarding a US COVID-19 Passport, which could be accepted as an equivalent document by the EU states (Schengenvisainfo).
Globally, as of 07 June, Johns Hopkins University counts 173,360,912 COVID-19 cases and 3,730,506 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 06 June 172,630,637 cases and 3,718,683 deaths.
As notable cases: Critical health facilities across Africa risk being overwhelmed by surging COVID-19 infections. While Africa has 2.9 per cent of cases globally, it accounts for 3.7 per cent of deaths (UN News). Britain is now coping with a rise in Covid cases. The main cause appears to be the highly infectious virus variant known as Delta, which was first detected in India, and likely playing a role recent moves to reopen society (NYT). Australia‘s Victoria state on Monday reported its biggest rise in new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in nearly a week as authorities scramble to track the source of the highly infectious Delta variant found among infections (Reuters). Two new meta-analyses detail neurologic and psychiatric conditions in COVID-19 patients, one suggesting that symptoms such as fatigue and depression are common even in people with mild illness, and the other showing central and peripheral nervous system involvement in up to 36% of cases that increased the risk of hospitalization (CIDRAP).
Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 06 June, Our World in Data reports 2.15 billion administered vaccine doses globally. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 05 June over 1.9 billion administered vaccine doses.
As notable cases: Thailand starts long awaited COVID-19 vaccination drive (Reuters).
Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information. The information in this report may change without prior notice.
