World Status Report

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

The violent situation in Haiti’s urban areas has significantly degraded in recent weeks, resulting in forced displacement as well as numerous deaths and injuries (ERCC). The humanitarian situation in Tigray, Ethiopia remains critical, with over 5 million people in need of protection and emergency assistance, close to 2 million people displaced due to the conflict and deportation, and with Emergency and risk of Catastrophe levels of food insecurity (ERCC). In Myanmar, international action is needed urgently to prevent “mass deaths” there, after civilians fled attacks by so-called “junta bombs”, a top independent UN rights expert has warned (UN News). More than 7,000 people have fled a village in Burkina Faso that was attacked over the weekend (RFI). President Daniel Ortega’s government has carried out sweeping arrests of his top challengers in the November elections, in a sharp escalation of political repression in Nicaragua (WaPo). Attackers killed at least ten people at a site where staffers were clearing land mines in Afghanistan’s northeastern Baghlan Province (NYT).

Natural Disasters

Severe weather has impacted various countries resulting in displacement and damage.  Floods in Indonesia and the United States.  Floods and landslides in Germany (ERCC). Weeks of heavy rains have flooded large parts of the South American nation of Guyana, turning communities into lakes, destroying farms and ranches (AP).

Health

Up to one-third of adults in Uganda have been excluded from health-care and social services and cannot vote because they do not have digital identity cards introduced in 2015, according to a report by three human rights organizations (Guardian).

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:  The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, announced late Wednesday new restrictions on access to public venues, limiting them to those vaccinated and with a recent negative coronavirus test (WaPo).

Globally, as of 10 June, Johns Hopkins University counts 174,484,813 COVID-19 cases and 3,759,509 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports  173,989,093 cases and 3,756,947 deaths. 

As notable cases:  Coronavirus vaccination coverage in Europe is currently not enough to protect the region from a resurgence of covid-19, even as cases and deaths decline, the World Health Organization said Thursday (WaPo). A surge in new coronavirus cases is tearing through the Caribbean island nation of Haiti, overwhelming hospitals in both urban and rural areas as authorities await the delivery of vaccines (WaPo). India records more than 6,100 daily covid deaths after the state of Bihar adds huge backlog of uncounted fatalities (WaPo). New Zealand on Thursday marked a record 103 days without domestic transmission of the coronavirus (WaPo). The Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago reported the largest increase in COVID-19 infections and deaths during the past month. In Haiti, hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients are straining the country’s oxygen supplies. In Costa Rica, infections are declining after weeks of acceleration but other Central American countries, including Panama and Guatemala, are reporting an increase in new cases. Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru are reporting a decline in cases, but most South American countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, are reporting rising infections. Both cases and deaths have increased in Bolivia and Colombia during the past two weeks, and in many Colombian cities, ICU beds are almost at capacity (PAHO).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue.  As of 09 June, Our World in Data reports 2.26 billion administered vaccine doses globally. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 08 June over 2.09 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases: Controlling COVID-19 in the Americas will take years if slow pace of vaccination continues, PAHO Director says. Some countries – including Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia – have vaccinated only about 3% of their populations (PAHO).

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.