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

In Burkina Faso, on 11 July, a non-state armed group attacked civilian volunteers who joined the national security forces. The burning of shops and robbery of cattle have also been reported (ERCC). Colombia has been rocked by the most significant protests in recent memory. In late April and May Colombians took to the streets across the country initially to protest a proposed new tax law. But what began as a protest against this new tax bill swiftly morphed into a broad based protest movement against systemic inequality (UN Dispatch). Tigrayan forces claimed Tuesday to have launched a new offensive in the conflict-torn northern region of Ethiopia, two weeks after the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire in the face of rebel advances (EastAfrican). The insurgents now claim control over more than a third of the 421 districts and district centres across Afghanistan. They have also captured several border crossings with Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (TheWeek). It is estimated that there are around 50 self-defense groups in Mexico, which has seen intensifying violence in recent months, notably in Michoacan and the northern states of Tamaulipas and Zacatecas (France24).

Natural Disasters

Heavy rain and strong winds have been affecting Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan causing floods and resulting in casualties and damage. Several wildfires are burning across the western United States, resulting in fatalities and damage. On 14 July: red alert for heavy rain over western Germany; red alert for extreme high temperature over most of Latvia, central and southern Serbia, central and southern Hungary (ERCC).

Health

A report by five UN agencies found that global hunger spiked in 2020 (WHO), with 2.3 billion people lacking year-round access to adequate food. This indicator rose more in one year than in the previous five years combined, raising concerns of social unrest and migration (FT), the United Nations said.

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:  Under what it’s being called a policy of “soft suppression”, Israel wants to learn to live with the virus – involving the fewest possible restrictions and avoiding a fourth national lockdown that could do further harm to the economy (Reuters). Greece will require customers at indoor restaurants, bars and cafes to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or have tested negative within the last three days (Guardian). Thailand has given the go-ahead for home isolation of coronavirus patients with mild symptoms and use of home self-test kits, as a coronavirus outbreak continues to puts pressure on its capital’s healthcare and testing capacity (Guardian).

Global cases and deaths. As of 13 July, Johns Hopkins University counts 187,414,264 COVID-19 cases and 4,043,228 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports 186,821,815 cases and 4,038,342 deaths.

As notable cases: On Tuesday, India reported 32,906 new cases, the lowest since mid-March, and 2,020 new deaths that included a backlog of hundreds of previously unreported fatalities in the central state Madhya Pradesh, according to the health ministry data (Al Jazeera). Russia reported 25,140 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 5,403 in Moscow (Reuters). Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said on Tuesday that a sufficient number of hospitals combined with a speed-up in the vaccination rollout among the elderly meant the city will be able to hold “safe and secure” Olympics in 10 days (Guardian). The number of Delta variant Covid cases in Turkey has risen to 750 from 284 seven days ago and overall cases climbed 20% at the weekend compared with a week earlier (Guardian). The decision to lift England’s remaining Covid restrictions next Monday, even as cases of the Delta variant surge around the country, is expected to turbocharge the epidemic and push the nation into what one leading scientist called “uncharted territory” in terms of the numbers of people left suffering from long Covid (Guardian). Malaysia reported 11,079 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the most number of cases recorded in a single day since the start of the pandemic (Reuters).  The Delta variant is now in more than 104 countries and will soon become the dominant COVID-19 strain, WHO’s Director General said. Cases have risen worldwide for four consecutive weeks, and after 10 weeks of declines, deaths are increasing again. In countries with low vaccine coverage, the situation is particularly bad (WHO).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 12 July, Our World in Data reports 25.4% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 3.47 billion doses have been administered globally, and 29.22 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 3.11 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases: The World Health Organization’s chief scientist on Monday advised against people mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers, calling it a “dangerous trend” since more data is needed about the health impact (Reuters). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration added a warning to the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine saying that data suggests there is an increased risk of a rare neurological disorder in the six weeks after inoculation (Reuters). South Korea’s rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations to people aged 55-59 has come to a week-long halt after a spike in new cases sparked a rush for shots, booking up available supplies and crashing the official reservation website (Guardian). Germany is not planning to follow France and other countries in introducing compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations for parts of the population (Guardian). Australia will donate 1.5m doses of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine to Vietnam soon, the Southeast Asian country said in a statement on Tuesday (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.