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

• Niger. More than 3.8 million people need humanitarian aid in Niger, the last-ranking country in the Human Development Index. Extreme violence by Non-State Armed Groups against civilians in Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria exacerbates the humanitarian situation in Niger and the greater Sahel region. At the same time, growing insecurity in Niger has resulted in the number of internally-displaced persons reaching more than 280,000 (ERCC).
• Afghanistan. A deadly suicide bombing took place during Friday prayers at the largest Shia mosque in the city of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, which killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens more. The blast occurred against the backdrop of the deepening and multifaceted crisis in Afghanistan (UN News). A Russia-led post-Soviet security bloc started its largest military drills near the Tajik-Afghan border in years on Monday amid cross-border tensions ahead of talks between Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders and major regional powers (Reuters).
• Kosovo, Serbia. Tensions over vehicle licence plates and anti-smuggling operations, between authorities in Kosovo and Serbia, in recent weeks, may contribute to unravelling “steady but fragile progress made in rebuilding trust among communities” in Kosovo and Serbia (UN News).
• Ethiopia. Ethiopian families fleeing fighting describe hunger, rape in Amhara. Diplomats are worried that renewed fighting will further destabilise Ethiopia, a nation of 109 million people, and deepen hunger in Tigray and the surrounding regions (Reuters).
• Nigeria. Gunmen killed at least 30 people in an attack in northern Nigeria’s Sokoto state, the governor’s office said on Monday (Reuters).
• Haiti. A U.S. Christian aid organization on Sunday said a group of its missionaries had been kidnapped in Haiti, a further sign the Caribbean nation’s gangs are growing increasingly brazen amid political and economic crises (Reuters). “The gangs are federated, they are well-armed, they have more money and ideology,” said CARDH (Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights) Director Gedeon Jean. “We are heading toward a proto-state. The gangs are getting stronger while the police are getting weaker” (Reuters).
• Mexico. An attempted robbery turned into a shootout close to Mexico City’s international airport on Friday morning in which an alleged attacker was killed and two men were injured, according to security officials (Reuters).
• India. Indian authorities have moved thousands of migrant workers in Kashmir to safer locations overnight, while hundreds have fled the Himalayan valley after a wave of targeted killings, two security officials said on Monday (Reuters).
• El Salvador. Thousands of people in El Salvador took to the streets on Sunday in protest against President Nayib Bukele who has stoked concern that he is steadily concentrating power and who responded with changing his Twitter profile late in the day to “Emperor of El Salvador” (Reuters).

Natural Disasters

• Uganda. Heavy rains registered during September and early October 2021 have caused several floods, landslides and hailstorms, significantly affecting more than 40,000 individuals (ERCC).
• India. Heavy rain has been affecting southern Kerala State (south-western India) since 15 October, triggering landslides and causing floods that have resulted in casualties and damage (ERCC). The Indian army and navy called out to rescue residents (Reuters).
• Indonesia. On 17 October, heavy rain caused the overflow of Ogan River in Ogan Komering Ulu Regency (South Sumatra Province, Indonesia), resulting in evacuations and damage (ERCC).
• Indonesia. An earthquake of 4.8M occurred on Bali Island (Indonesia) on 15 October at 20.18 UTC (16 October at 4.18 local time). The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) reports, as of 17 October reports 3 fatalities, injured people, 19 displaced people, and around 380 damaged buildings (ERCC).
• United States. Since 11 October, a wildfire event has been burning across north-west of Santa Barbara County (southern California), affecting an area of about 7,000 ha resulting in injuries and damage (ERCC).
• Russia‘s remote permafrost thaws, threatening homes and infrastructure. “There isn’t a single settlement in Russia’s Arctic where you wouldn’t find a destroyed or deformed building,” said Alexey Maslakov, a scientist at Moscow State University (Reuters).

Health

• Syria. The Whole-of-Syria food security cluster mid-year review concluded that 12.8 million people remain food insecure (over 60% of the population). The situation is expected to deteriorate further, also due to the present water crisis and its knock-on effect on agricultural production (ERCC).
• Serbia. Between 8 and 14 October 2021, Serbia reported one human case of West Nile Virus(WNV) infection and no deaths related to WNV infections (ECDC).
• Germany, Italy. Since the previous monthly measles update on 10 September 2021, eight new cases have been reported by two countries: Germany (5) and Italy (3) (ECDC).
• Congo (DRC). On 14 October 2021, a second confirmed case of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in a 42-year-old female in Beni Health Zone, in North Kivu Province was reported. Initial genomic sequencing at INRB Pathogen Genomic Sequencing Laboratory in Kinshasa indicated that the new cases probably represent a new flare-up event from the 2018-2020 North Kivu/Ituri outbreak (ECDC). Three new Ebola cases have been confirmed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing the total to five in the last 10 days, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday (Reuters).
• Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, Ukraine have reported new cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP). AFP caused by cVDPV1: Madagascar (3).  AFP caused by cVDPV2: Nigeria (46), Senegal (1) and Ukraine (1) (ECDC).
• World. TB patients have become collateral damage in the train wreck that is COVID-19. Until the emergence of COVID, tuberculosis was the deadliest infectious disease in the world. But health care workers were making slow, steady progress to contain it. Now for the first time in more than a decade the death toll from TB is rising (NPR).

Of note

• Mexico is slated to impose visa requirements for Brazilian visitors amid efforts to slow a wave of U.S.-bound migration from Brazil, according to a document from Mexico’s interior ministry (Reuters).
• China. Power shortages helped drive down China’s economic growth to its slowest in a year, while surging coal prices on Monday threaten more pain for Chinese industry and global supply chains (Reuters).
• World. “As the global economic recovery continues to gather steam, what is increasingly apparent is how it will be stymied by supply-chain disruptions that are now showing up at every corner,” Tim Uy of Moody’s Analytics said in a report last Monday (CNBC).

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:

• United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late on Friday that it will accept mixed-dose coronavirus vaccines from international travelers, a boost to travelers from Canada and other places (Reuters).
• Australia. Thousands of children returned to school in Sydney on Monday, putting an end to months of home learning as Australia’s largest city eased more COVID-19 curbs, thanks to rising rates of vaccinations (Reuters).
• New Zealand‘s biggest city of Auckland will retain its lockdown for two more weeks in the battle on the Delta variant of coronavirus, as the country pushes to step up vaccinations, Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern said on Monday (Reuters).
• Europe. Several countries in Europe have decided to amend their free testing regulations. This means that unlike during the earlier stages of the pandemic, everyone is now required to pay for their tests since everyone has had the chance to get vaccinated until now (SchengenVisaInfo.com).

Global cases and deaths. As of 18 October, Johns Hopkins University counts 240,786,306 COVID-19 cases and 4,900,724 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 18 October 240,061,454 cases and 4,887,600 deaths.

As notable cases:

• The United Arab Emirates on Sunday recorded a drop in daily COVID-19 cases to below 100 for the first time since the start of the outbreak last year as it hosts a huge world fair to which it hopes to attract millions of visits (Reuters).
• United Kingdom. Britain on Sunday reported 45,140 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily number since the middle of July, and 57 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to official data (Reuters).
• China has recorded a new community outbreak involving eight people as it braces for a challenging winter of Covid-19 control (SCMP).
• Romania has the highest COVID mortality rate in the world. Hospital and ICUs across the country are overwhelmed with media constantly reporting that no ICU beds are available. The situation is as such that ICU beds usually become available only after a patient dies (EU Reporter).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 17 October, Our World in Data reports 47.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 6.67 billion doses have been administered globally, and 19.23 million are now administered each day. Only 2.7% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 18 October over 6.54 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• Thailand will stop using the COVID-19 vaccine of China’s Sinovac (SVA.O) when its current stock finishes, a senior official said on Monday (Reuters).
• World. The following is a list of some countries that have approved or are considering vaccinating children (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.