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

• Pakistan. Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees for the past four decades, making it the second top refugee-hosting country worldwide. Meanwhile, the UN estimates that up to 300,000 additional Afghans will seek refuge in Pakistan in the coming months due to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan (ERCC).
• Burundi. Explosions killed at least five people and injured 50 in Burundi’s largest city Bujumbura on Monday night, a health worker told Reuters after the latest in a string of attacks in the east African country (Reuters).
• Nigeria imposed a communications blackout on Monday in several parts of Sokoto state as a crackdown against armed kidnappers in the country’s northwest region spreads (Reuters).
• Mali. European Union ties with Mali could be seriously affected if it allows Russian private military contractors to operate in the country, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on Monday (Reuters).
• Mexico. A man on a motorcycle delivered a package containing explosives to a bar in north-central Mexico, and the explosion killed two men and injured four. Explosives are sometime used by drug gangs in Mexico, but grenades are more common. Some gangs have begun attaching explosives to drones for aerial attacks (AP).

Natural Disasters

• Thailand. Torrential rain in three consecutive weeks has caused flash floods and landslides in 14 provinces of Thailand resulting in damage and displacement (ERCC).
• India. Since mid-September, heavy rain has caused widespread flooding and several landslides across northern and north-eastern India, resulting in casualties, displacement, and damage (ERCC).
• Canary Islands. The activity of the Cumbre Vieja volcano is ongoing, a new eruptive vent (9 in total) has been reported 900 m from the main crater very close to the Tacande village (El Paso Municipality). The speed of the lava flow towards the western coast of La Palma is slowing down, as reported by the Government of Canary Islands. The alert level of the volcano stands at red (ERCC). Families rushed to retrieve belongings from their homes and escape the advancing lava on Tuesday, as sirens sounded and helicopters flew overhead in air filled with smoke from an erupting volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma (Reuters).
• Greece. On 20 September, a wildfire broke out near Nea Makri Town (about 20 km north-east of Athens, Attica Region), thus emergency messages were sent to the residents to be prepared for relocation in Livisi and Agia Marina areas (ERCC).

Health

• Niger. A cholera outbreak is affecting 6 of the 8 regions of Niger, with 4,283 confirmed cases, 144 deaths and severe risks of further spreading during the rainy season (ERCC).

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:

• The United States on Monday extended restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico through Oct. 21 that bar nonessential travel such as tourism by foreigners despite Ottawa’s decision to open its border to vaccinated Americans (Reuters). Under new U.S. rules, foreign nationals admitted to the United States on humanitarian grounds, who are not required to have COVID-19 vaccinations, will have to agree to be vaccinated upon arrival, according to a planning document seen by Reuters (Reuters).
• New Zealand on Friday announced higher fines of up to NZ$12,000 ($8,400) for individuals breaching coronavirus restrictions amid concerns that the current outbreak may spread beyond Auckland to other regions due to people breaking rules (Reuters).
• Germany. German politicians expressed shock on Tuesday over the killing of a 20-year old petrol station worker after an argument about a face mask and said that coronavirus deniers who are willing to use violence will not be tolerated (Reuters). Germany is not giving a target date for lifting COVID-19 restrictions, as it’s unclear how the pandemic will develop over the Northern Hemisphere winter (Reuters).

Global cases and deaths. As of 21 September, Johns Hopkins University counts 229,222,879 COVID-19 cases and 4,702,936 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 20 September 228,394,572 cases and 4,690,186 deaths.

As notable cases:

• China. Spas, cinemas and mahjong salons in the Chinese city of Harbin were ordered to close on Tuesday to prevent COVID-19 spreading in poorly ventilated spaces, state television reported (Reuters).
• United Kingdom. The reopening of schools in England has sparked a huge surge in Covid cases among students and pupils in England, with official figures showing that more than 100,000 children were absent with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections last week (Guardian).
• American Samoa reported its first coronavirus case, 18 months into the pandemic, after a traveler tested positive after flying to the U.S. territory from Hawaii. The positive case was discovered during a quarantine period required upon arrival in American Samoa. The traveler was fully vaccinated, according to a news release published Friday by American Samoa’s Department of Homeland Security, and the positive result was confirmed by the Health Department Thursday. Officials say the individual tested negative before traveling. The traveler was asymptomatic when tested, according to the news release, and will continue to be monitored (WaPo).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 20 September, Our World in Data reports 43.5% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 5.98 billion doses have been administered globally, and 28.8 million are now administered each day. Only 2% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 20 September over 5.77 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• Singapore. Some health experts in Singapore are calling for mandatory vaccination against the coronavirus with a growing toll of severe COVID-19 among unvaccinated people as infections surge and with vaccine take-up plateauing at 82% of the population (Reuters).
• United States. An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration on Friday recommended against a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine for most Americans at this time, but voted unanimously to recommend one to Americans who are 65 or older (STAT).

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.