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

Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders announced it is suspending operations in part of Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region after three of its staff members were killed last month (AFP).  A new report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights accused Colombian authorities of using “excessive and disproportionate” force during anti-government protests this year and called on Colombia to make structural changes to its police force (Al Jazeera).

Natural Disasters

On 5-6 July, strong winds were reported across central Thailand, resulting in damage. Following the massive landslide occurred in the coastal city of Atami (Shizuoka Prefecture, approximately 90 km south-west of Tokyo) on 3 July, the death toll has increased.  On 9 July, there is a red alert for extreme high temperature over most of Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia (ERCC).

Health

Headache, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and loss of smell are among the new top 5 COVID symptoms, study says (CNBC).

COVID-19

International preventative measures against COVID-19, including entry restrictions and in-country mobility remain 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: Japan declared a new state of emergency in Tokyo on Thursday after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases, the decision is likely to force officials to abandon plans announced late last month to allow domestic spectators at Olympic events (NYT). Thailand‘s health ministry said on Thursday it had proposed new travel curbs and tighter restrictions in high-risk areas to contain COVID-19 cases (Reuters). A case brought by more than 500 families of Covid victims seeking a total of €100m in compensation from the Italian government has reached court, as the first hearing into continental Europe’s deadliest outbreak got under way in Rome (Guardian). The Southeast Asian Games due to be held in Vietnam later this year has been postponed until 2022 by the Games federation, Malaysia’s Olympic Council said on Thursday (Guardian). Taiwan will extend its level 3 alert for another two weeks but with loosened restrictions after reporting just 18 new cases today. Six of the cases were already in quarantine after having been identified through contact tracing (Guardian).

Global cases and deaths. As of 08 July, Johns Hopkins University counts 185,206,396 COVID-19 cases and 4,004,305 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports 184,572,371 cases and 3,997,640 deaths.

As notable cases: The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti on Wednesday could complicate efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the Caribbean nation, which has yet to begin vaccinating its citizens, officials from the World Health Organization warned (NYT). As Fiji battles one of the fastest-growing coronavirus outbreaks in the world, the Pacific Island’s Olympic team departed on Thursday for Tokyo on a freight plane (NYT). With the Delta (B1617.2) variant outpacing COVID-19 vaccination in many countries, the world is at a perilous point in the pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said today. The warning comes a day after the WHO reported that cases have risen for the second week in a row, with nearly all regions reporting illness spikes (CIDRAP). Last week, the number of new cases increased slightly, while the number of new deaths continued to decrease, with over 2.6 million new cases and just under 54 000 new deaths reported globally. Last week, all Regions reported an increase in new cases except for the Americas. The European Region reported a sharp increase in incidence (30%) whereas African region reported a sharp increase in mortality (23%) when compared to the previous week. All Regions, with the exception of the Americas and South-East Asia, reported an increase in the number of deaths last week (WHO).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 07 July, Our World in Data reports 24.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 3.32 billion doses have been administered globally, and 33.25 million are now administered each day. Only 1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports over 3.03 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases: Moscow police have launched dozens of criminal probes to crack down on fake inoculation certificates, as vaccine skepticism remains stubbornly high in Russia despite soaring infection rates (Guardian). Russia has offered Covid vaccines to North Korea once again, after Kim Jong-un told citizens to prepare for the “worst ever outcome” (Guardian).

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.