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

Although the fight against terrorism has made important advances in thwarting attacks across the world, the UN chief said on Monday that threats continue to persist and diversify (UN News). Violence erupted after the demolition of a Palestinian business by Israeli forces began in the al-Bustan area of the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan on Tuesday (AlJazeera). The landmark decision from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, born out of a brutal murder, could have far-reaching implications for L.G.B.T.Q. rights across Latin America (NYT), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Monday ruled that the Honduran government violated a trans woman’s right to life and was responsible for her 2009 murder, according to attorneys in the case (Yahoo). The French medical charity Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontière is temporarily closing one of its health facilities in Haiti after doctors and patients were the target of an armed gang attack over the weekend (MSN). The State Department on Monday continued urging Americans to avoid travel to Tamaulipas, Mexico due to recent drug cartel violence in Reynosa (BorderReport).

Natural Disasters

Severe weather and the tropical depression DANNY have affected various regions in the United States causing casualties, power outages, and some displacement.  Heavy rain has been reported across western Mexico, causing floods and landslides, resulting in casualties and damage to homes and roads. Widespread floods have been recorded in the area of Caracas City (northern Venezuela) on 24 June, resulting in evacuations and damage. Heavy rain has been affecting Antioquia Department (northwestern Colombia) over the past few days, causing floods, triggering landslides and resulting in casualties and damage. On 26 June, heavy rain caused floods, flash floods and river overflow across different parts of Bulgaria, resulting in casualties (ERCC).

Health

UN humanitarians expressed concern on Tuesday at the uncertain situation in Ethiopia‘s conflict-ravaged Tigray region despite a ceasefire call from the Government, highlighting the ongoing famine-like conditions there and the potential for disease outbreaks (UN News).

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: Nigeria has barred passengers who are not citizens or permanent residents from entering the country if they have been in South Africa in the past 14 days over Covid concerns (Guardian). Bangladesh prepared to enter into its harshest lockdown yet, with people only allowed to leave their homes in an emergency and soldiers set to patrol the streets, as a deadly resurgence of Covid-19 infections swept the country (Guardian). Philippines‘ president Rodrigo Duterte has prolonged restrictions on movement and businesses in the Philippine capital and nearby provinces until mid-July, and retained stricter Covid curbs in central and southern areas (Guardian). Perth and Brisbane have joined Sydney and Darwin in introducing lockdowns in an Australia-wide effort to tackle an outbreak of COVID-19 cases (Reuters).  Health officials in Los Angeles county, in the United States, have recommended everyone wear masks indoors – regardless of vaccination status – because of the increased prevalence of the Delta variant (Reuters).

Global cases and deaths. As of 29 June, Johns Hopkins University counts 181,515,520 COVID-19 cases and 3,931,874 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports  181,007,816 cases and 3,927,222 deaths.

As notable cases: Oxygen prices leap in Indonesia‘s capital as COVID-19 cases surge (Reuters). Indonesia’s Covid surge is on the edge of a “catastrophe” as the more infectious Delta variant dominates transmission and chokes hospitals in south-east Asia’s worst epidemic, the Red Cross said this morning (Guardian). The delta variant is spreading in Germany and is believed to represent more than 50% of active cases (DW). The Delta variant now accounts for about 20% of all new confirmed cases in France, the country’s health minister, Olivier Véran, has said (Guardian). A rise in daily cases of the coronavirus in Tokyo, Japan has triggered fears of a possible fifth wave of infections, less than a month before the city is due to host the Olympics (Guardian).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 28 June, Our World in Data reports 3 billion administered vaccine doses globally. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports over 2.66 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases: The Netherlands will offer Covid-19 vaccinations to all children aged 12 to 17 in an effort to prevent infections (Guardian). Greece will allow people fully vaccinated against Covid inside restaurants without masks, the government has said, as part of measures to boost inoculation rates (Guardian). Mixing doses of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca creates a strong immune response, according to results from a University of Oxford study, a finding that could enable greater flexibility in the use of scarce supplies (Bloomberg). Vietnam has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. It’s the 5th vaccine to be given such approval in the country (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.