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

• Colombia. A record 65 environmental defenders were killed in Colombia in 2020, according to a report published on Monday by advocacy group Global Witness, nearly one-third of the worldwide total (Reuters).
• Nicaragua. A Nicaraguan political activist who opposes the government of President Daniel Ortega is in critical condition in a Costa Rica hospital after being shot, police and activists said on Sunday. More than 80,000 Nicaraguans have requested refuge in neighboring Costa Rica since the 2018 protests; numbers had increased in the past three months as Ortega’s government clamped down on opposition politicians and activists (Reuters).
• Afghanistan. The Taliban have already broken their promises to safeguard women and protect human rights, ambassador Nasir Ahmad Andisha, who remains accredited at U.N. bodies despite the collapse of the government he represents, told the Human Rights Council (Reuters). Qatar says it will not take responsibility for Kabul airport without “clear” agreements with all parties involved, including the Taliban, about its operations (Al Jazeera)
• South Korea. U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said its research showed the lack of protections had led to a range of discriminatory practices and were exacerbating harassment for young LGBT people (Reuters).
• Syria is still unsafe for the return of refugees a decade after its conflict began, U.N. war crimes investigators said on Tuesday, documenting worsening violence and rights violations including arbitrary detention by government forces (Reuters).
• France. Protests in France against the vaccine passport mandate have escalated this weekend after protesters encountered masked people. The official data reveals that over 120,000 people came together on Saturday, protesting the government’s decision to impose Coronavirus health passes for entering public places like cafes and restaurants (Schengenvisainfo).
• Kenya. Renewed violence reported in the northern Kenya County of Laikipia in recent weeks is likely to intensify jitters in the region about possible widespread tension related to the country’s upcoming elections in 2022 (The East African).

Natural Disasters

• Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) secretariat has issued an alert that a tropical storm is set to make landfall in Mekong countries bringing flooding and landslides (ERCC).
• China. Due to Tropical Cyclone CHANTHU, Shanghai has evacuated nearly 330,000 people, and flights, shipping and rail transit services have been suspended (ERCC).
• Philippines. In the northern Philippines, the passage of CHANTHU on 10-11 September affected at least 25,000 persons, while 500 individuals have been displaced (ERCC).
• United States. A Hurricane warning has been issued for areas south-eastern of Houston, while a Tropical Storm warning and storm surge warnings are in effect for south-eastern Texas. Heavy rain with strong winds is forecast over south-eastern Texas and south-western Lousiana on 14-16 September (ERCC).
• Mexico. A landslide, triggered by heavy rain, occurred in the Unión Juárez Town area (Chiapas State, southern Mexico) on 12 September, resulting in casualties and damage (ERCC).
• El Salvador. Heavy rain has been affecting several parts of El Salvador (particularly the northern and western sectors) since 10 September, causing floods and rivers overflow, triggering landslides and leading to casualties and damage (ERCC).

Health

• South Sudan. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Monday that beginning next month, funding shortages will force it to suspend lifesaving food assistance for more than 100,000 displaced people in parts of South Sudan until the start of 2022 (UN News).
• Afghanistan. The health care system in Afghanistan is teetering on the edge of collapse, endangering the lives of millions and compounding a deepening humanitarian crisis, public health experts warn. The country’s health care has been propped up by aid from international donors. But after the Taliban seized power, the World Bank and other organizations froze $600 million in health care aid. If World Bank funding is not restored quickly, an exodus of health care workers may result. Many have remained on the job despite significant personal risks; already some have not been paid for months. Along with the loss of supplies, the cutoff would effectively end health care services in 31 of the nation’s 34 provinces, humanitarian groups say (NYT).

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:

• Malaysia. Businesses at Malaysia’s prime holiday destination – Langkawi, a cluster of 99 islands in the Straits of Malacca – are gearing up to welcome the return of tourists this week (Reuters).
• Philippines. The Philippines’ capital region will exit wide-scale coronavirus restrictions from Thursday, as the government launches a pilot test of localised lockdowns, amid efforts to balance reopening the economy and containing the spread of the coronavirus (Reuters).
• Europe. As the European continent goes through another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, several European Union and Schengen Area countries have already decided to impose stricter restrictions against travellers arriving from highly affected areas in a bid to protect public health as well as control the spread of the virus and its variants (Schengenvisainfo).
• Australia. Australians have been told to “dust off (their) passports” after the federal government announced it would begin a trial of vaccine passports with some countries this week — the latest step in Australia’s reopening to the world (CNN).

Global cases and deaths. As of 14 September, Johns Hopkins University counts 225,468,280 COVID-19 cases and 4,643,152 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 13 September 224,511,226 cases and 4,627,540 deaths.

As notable cases:

• Australia. Sydney’s COVID-19 cases rose at the slowest pace in nearly two weeks on Tuesday, but officials said they needed to see a steady drop in daily cases before deciding whether infections had peaked after 12 weeks in lockdown (Reuters).
• China. New local COVID-19 infections more than doubled in China’s southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday, prompting officials to quickly roll out measures including travel restrictions to halt the spread of the virus (Reuters).
• France. The number of French patients in hospital with COVID-19 fell below 10,000 again for the first time since mid-August, health ministry data showed on Monday (Reuters).
• Mexico recorded 4,161 new coronavirus cases and 221 COVID-19 deaths on Monday, increasing its cumulative totals to almost 3.52 million and 267,969, respectively (MND).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 13 September, Our World in Data reports 42.3% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 5.76 billion doses have been administered globally, and 33 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. Efforts to develop an African base for COVID-19 vaccine production will focus on trying to replicate Moderna’s (MRNA.O) shot, but a lack of progress in talks with the U.S. company mean the project will take time (Reuters).
• Belgium. Reluctant Belgian students are queuing up in droves to get vaccinated, ahead of plans by the Brussels regional government to make the health pass mandatory for accessing restaurants and bars in an effort to encourage young people to get their shots (Reuters).
• Greece will make a COVID-19 booster vaccine available to vulnerable groups from Tuesday (Reuters).
• United Kingdom. Britain will begin a broad-based COVID-19 vaccine booster programme for older and more vulnerable people soon (Reuters). Britain is highly likely to require front-line health and social care workers in England to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of its plan to contain the virus through the winter (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.