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

• Haiti. Helen La Lime, Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said that “long awaited” national and local elections have now been further postponed while “insecurity has become rampant in Port-au-Prince, as kidnappings are once again on the rise and gangs have extended their control over large swaths of the city.” (UN News).
• Taiwan has urged Beijing to stop “irresponsible provocative actions” after a record number of Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone (BBC).

Natural Disasters

• Guatemala. In September, heavy rain has affected most parts of Guatemala, particularly the Departments of Guatemala, Sololá and Suchitepéquez, causing severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in casualties and damage (ERCC).
• Honduras. A wildfire event occurred on 2-3 October in Guanaja Island (Islas de la Bahía Department, Honduras) leading to casualties and damage. A state of emergency and calamity has been declared for Guanaja, while national authorities are assisting the affected population with aid and relief items (ERCC).
• Italy. Heavy rain, strong winds and hailstorms were reported across north-western Italy on 4 October. Floods and landslides caused by heavy rain and river overflow damaged a number of houses, buildings and affected several national roads, and evacuations for dozens of people took place (ERCC).
• United Kingdom. Flooding has hit parts of London after heavy rain overnight, causing transport closures and flooded roads. Images taken in Knightsbridge, west London, show motorists attempting to navigate waterlogged roads following the downpours (BBC)

Of note

• China. The massive Chinese real estate company Evergrande is unable to pay its debts. This has sparked some rare protests in China and is spooking international financial markets. A key question now is whether or not the government of China will let Evergrande collapse and whether or not the collapse of this real estate giant will have knock on effects throughout the region and the world (UN Dispatch).
• World. According to an IATA prognosis presented today, global airlines will lose an estimated US$51.8bn in 2021 and another US$11.6bn in 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) forecasts reflect a steeper drop than the last forecast in April, which predicted losses of US$47.7bn this year (IATA).
• World. Countries with the most powerful passports that give access to a large number of destinations worldwide have kept in place the strictest entry restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while those with lower-ranking passports have not chosen such preventive measures in order to stop the virus’ further spread, which resulted in the widest global mobility gap in the  Henley Passport Index report 16-year history (Schengenvisainfo)
• India is facing possible energy supply problems in the coming months due to coal shortages and a post-pandemic surge in demand, the power minister said in a report published Tuesday (AFP in MSN)

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. The University Vaccine Requirement Checker notes universities that require a COVID-19 Vaccine.

As notable cases:

• Italy. Following the announcement of the Italian Government to extend the use of the Green Pass and make the COVID-19 certificate mandatory for all workers, thousands of citizens have protested in the streets of Rome, Milan, and Trieste (Schengenvisainfo).
• Australia and New Zealand moved closer on Tuesday to fully reopening their economies in the coming months, with leaders in both countries outlining steps to allow people vaccinated against the coronavirus to move more freely (NYT).

Global cases and deaths. As of 05 October, Johns Hopkins University counts 235,547,850 COVID-19 cases and 4,811,951 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 04 October 234,809,103 cases and 4,800,375 deaths.

As notable cases:

• Japan‘s COVID-19 case numbers have plummeted to the lowest in nearly a year just as other parts of Asia are struggling with surging infections, leaving health experts perplexed and raising concern of a winter rebound (Reuters).
• United Kingdom. Hospitals may struggle to cope if there is a significant surge of COVID-19 in England this winter even if broad vaccination means that deaths do not approach the same levels as last year, one of Britain’s top epidemiologists told Reuters (Reuters).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 04 October, Our World in Data reports 45.8% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 6.36 billion doses have been administered globally, and 22.93 million are now administered each day. Only 2.3% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 03 October over 6.18 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• World. Many countries are preparing to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots available, but there is no consensus among scientists that they are necessary and the World Health Organization wants the most vulnerable people worldwide to be fully vaccinated first (Reuters).
• Portugal will give a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine to people aged 65 and older from next week, starting with the most vulnerable groups, such as care home residents and those over 80 years old (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.