World Status Report

This report intends to give the UTD Community a snapshot of international risks, and other issues as reported by the linked media and official sources from the U.S. and other countries.

More health and security information 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, and the CDC, ECDC, and WHO sites. Not all advise in these sites will apply to US travelers.

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

• Ethiopia. Reports of continued human rights abuses and atrocities by parties to the conflict are deeply disturbing, including the reported attack on civilians in a village in the Amhara region this week, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Friday (Reuters).
• Spain. Hundreds of people gathered in central Madrid on Saturday to call for better protection for LGBT rights after a series of homophobic attacks that have shocked Spain in recent months (Reuters). Thousands of Catalans chanted, sang and waved flags as they marched through Barcelona on Saturday, calling for the region’s independence from Spain (Reuters).
• Greece. Police fired tear gas and water canon on Saturday to break up a demonstration of thousands of people protesting against mandatory coronavirus vaccinations (Reuters).
• Turkey. More than 2,000 Turks demonstrated in Istanbul on Saturday against official coronavirus-related mandates including vaccinations, tests and masks, responding to new government measures and an inoculation push (Reuters).
• Afghanistan‘s Taliban rulers have contradicted public promises on rights including by ordering women to stay at home, blocking teenage girls from school and holding house-to-house searches for former foes, a United Nations official said on Monday (Reuters).
• Niger. Increasing numbers of children are being killed or targeted for recruitment by armed groups in conflicts raging at Niger’s borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, Amnesty International said in a report published Monday (AFP in MSN).
• Myanmar. At least 20 people have been killed in fighting between militias and Myanmar’s security forces, according to witnesses and Myanmar media, in the worst violence since opponents of the military government called this week for a “people’s defensive war” (Al Jazeera)

Natural Disasters

• Philippines. In the Philippines, the NDRRMC reports that the passage of Tropical Cyclone CONSON on 6-8 September, caused at least 17 fatalities, 24 injured individuals, and seven missing people. More than 29,830 people are currently displaced across 181 evacuation centres and up to 313,373 people have been affected (ERCC).
• China. A red typhoon warning has been issued for central-eastern China. On 13-15 September, heavy to very heavy rain with strong winds are forecast specifically for areas from southeastern Jiangsu, Shanghai and northern Zhejiang Provinces (ERCC). A typhoon that swept its way through East Asia is now forcing two of the world’s busiest ports in China to suspend some operations (MSN).
• Pakistan. Since 11 September, heavy rain and thunderstorms have been affecting northern Pakistan, causing flash floods, triggering landslides and leading to casualties and damage (ERCC).
• Mexico-United States. A tropical storm warning has been issued for areas from the Mexico-USA border to Houston City (Texas), while storm surge warnings are in effect for coastal areas in south-eastern Texas. On 13-15 September, heavy rain and strong winds are forecast for Tamaulipas and Texas (ERCC).
• Italy. Heavy rain and strong winds hit several parts of Sicily Region over the past few days, resulting in casualties and damage (ERCC).

Health

• Somalia. Nearly 3.5 million people across Somalia are expected to face critical food consumption gaps, depletion of livelihood assets or worse (IPC 3 and above) through the end of the year, in the absence of humanitarian assistance (ERCC).
• Europe. Between 3 and 9 September 2021, 18 human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection and no related deaths. Cases were reported by Greece (8), Italy (3), Germany (2) and Spain (2) and Serbia (3) (ECDC).
• Europe. Since 6 August 2021, eight new cases of Measles were reported by two countries Finland (3) and Germany (5). Three countries reported six cases in July 2021: Belgium (3), France (1) and Italy (2). Other countries did not report new cases of measles (ECDC).
• India. A case of Nipah virus infection has been reported in Kerala state, India in September 2021. The case was hospitalised and has since died (ECDC). An outbreak of dengue fever is suspected of killing dozens of people in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh since the start of September, and authorities have launched a campaign to destroy mosquito breeding grounds (Reuters).
• Congo (DRC). On 8 September 2021, the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared an outbreak of meningitis in the north-eastern Tshopo Province (ECDC).
• Madagascar. On 29 August 2021, an alert was made by the health authorities of the Arivonimamo district, in the Itasy region of Madagascar, regarding cases of pneumonic plague (ECDC).

COVID-19

International preventative measures against COVID-19, including entry restrictions and in-country mobility remain fluid, and can be imposed without prior notice.  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:

• South Africa will ease COVID-19 restrictions and shorten its nationwide curfew from Monday after a decline in infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address (Reuters).
• New Zealand. Auckland will remain in the strict Alert level 4 lockdown until midnight on Sept. 21 (Reuters).
• Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City will extend its restrictions, state media reported on Monday, as the capital Hanoi and several provinces sought an easing of curbs and the aviation authority proposed domestic flights resume (Reuters).
• China. Putian, a city in the southeastern province of Fujian, has closed cinemas and gyms, sealed off some entries and exits to highways and told residents not to leave town as it battles a local COVID-19 outbreak (Reuters).
• Russia will resume passenger flights with Spain, Iraq, Kenya and Slovakia from Sept. 21, the government said on Monday, and will increase the number of airports with flights to Turkey and Egypt (Reuters).
• Indonesia has eased its COVID-19 restrictions on the popular tourist resort island of Bali, maritime and investment minister Luhut Panjaitan told a virtual conference on Monday (Reuters).
• United States. The White House announced Thursday that the TSA will be doubling its fines for travelers who refuse to wear a mask on flights. The new rules go into effect on Friday, Sept. 10. First-time offenders now face a fine between $500 and $1,000, while fines for a second offense will range between $1,000 and $3,000, according to a TSA release (NPR).
• Sri Lanka has experienced long queues to buy essential items amid tight lockdown measures to control the spread of Covid-19. Shelves at government-run supermarkets have been running low – some even empty – with very little stock remaining of imported goods like milk powder, cereal and rice (BBC).

Global cases and deaths. As of 13 September, Johns Hopkins University counts 224,809,026 COVID-19 cases and 4,633,396 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 13 September 224,372,380 cases and 4,625,006 deaths.

As notable cases:

• Singapore. Infections in Singapore over the weekend were 10 times higher than a month ago and the number of seriously ill patients has also increased, Reuters reports (Guardian).
• Syria. Infection in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province have soared since mid-August, driving “a sudden and severe wave”, local officials told AFP (Guardian).
• United Kingdom. The editor-in-chief of medical journal The Lancet has warned that the UK has among the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, saying: “The pandemic hasn’t gone away yet.” While Richard Horton said it is positive that two-thirds of UK population is vaccinated, it has the highest number of infections globally after the US (Guardian).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 12 September, Our World in Data reports 42.1% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 5.73 billion doses have been administered globally, and 32.79 million are now administered each day. Only 1.9% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 13 September over 5.53 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• South Africa‘s health regulator has approved Pfizer’s (PFE.N) COVID-19 vaccine for use by children aged 12 and older, paving the way for the government to offer vaccinations to teenagers (Reuters).
• United States. In his most forceful pandemic actions and words, President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered sweeping new federal vaccine requirements for as many as 100 million Americans — private-sector employees as well as health care workers and federal contractors — in an all-out effort to curb the surging COVID-19 delta variant (Associated Press).

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.