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

• Syria. On 20 October, shelling by the Syrian Government/allies hit a market and school surroundings in the city of Ariha in Idlib province, reportedly inflicting heavy civilian casualties including among children on their way to school (ERCC).
• Africa’s Great Lakes region. The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Huang Xia notes the main threat to peace and stability in this region around the Great Rift Valley, remains the persistence of non-State armed groups. He pointed to “an upsurge in attacks”, whether by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), or those launched by the RED-Tabara against Bujumbura airport, in Burundi, last September (UN News).
• Sudan. Huge crowds of people marched in several parts of the Sudanese capital and other cities on Thursday in demonstrations against the prospect of military rule, as the crisis in the country’s troubled transition from authoritarian rule deepened (Reuters). The country’s information ministry said al-Burhan has effectively staged a “military coup”.  The internet has been cut off, while roads and bridges in Khartoum have been blocked. The airport has also been closed and the headquarters of state television and radio were raided by security forces (Al Jazeera). Sudan’s military seized power in a coup on Monday, arresting members of a transitional government that was supposed to guide the country to democracy (Reuters).
• Ethiopia carried out an air strike on the city of Mekelle for the third day this week, a government spokesperson said (Reuters). A UN humanitarian aid flight destined for the capital of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, was forced to return to Addis Ababa due to airstrikes on Friday, raising “serious concerns” for the safety of staff working on the ground, said the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, in a statement (UN News).
• Myanmar. Myanmar has spiraled into civil war following a military coup, the outgoing U.N. special envoy on Myanmar said on Thursday (Reuters).
• Hong Kong. Amnesty International will leave Hong Kong by the end of the year because the Beijing-imposed national security law has made its human rights work “effectively impossible”, the global agency has said (SCMP).

Natural Disasters

• India, Nepal. Heavy rain continues to affect the Himalayan State of Uttarakhand (northern India) and the neighbouring Nepal since 16 October, triggering several landslides and causing floods that have resulted in casualties and widespread damage (ERCC). More than 150 people have died in flooding across India and Nepal in recent days, as heavy late monsoon rains triggered flash floods, destroyed homes, crops and infrastructure and left thousands stranded (Reuters).
• Philippines. On 10 October, several Municipalities in Davao Oriental Province (south-eastern Mindanao, southern Philippines) were affected by floods and storm surge resulting in damage (ERCC).
• Canary Islands. In La Palma island, new evacuations have been ordered for residents in the Municipalities of Llanos de Aridanne and Tazacorte, due to the advancement of the lava flow further north-west (ERCC).
• Mexico. A Hurricane warning is in effect for coastal areas from central Michoacán to the north of Guerrero State and tropical storm warnings have been issued for coastal areas Colima, northern Michoacán and central Guerrero. On 25-26 October, heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge is forecast over eastern States of central Mexico (ERCC).
• Indonesia. On 22-23 October, several flooding and landslide events caused by heavy rain were reported across Indonesia, resulting in casualties, displacement, and damage (ERCC).
• Taiwan. An earthquake of 6.2M at a depth of 64 km occurred in north-eastern Taiwan on 24 October at 5.11 UTC. Media report, as of 25 October, some injured people and a number of buildings with minor damage across the Yilan County (ERCC).
• Cote d’Ivoire. Heavy rain has been affecting southern Cote d’Ivoire (in particular the Abidjan area, the economic capital of the country) since 22 October, triggering landslides and causing floods that have resulted in casualties and damage (ERCC).

Health

• Italy. Between 15 and 21 October 2021, Italy reported two human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection and no deaths related to WNV infections (ECDC).
• Congo (DRC). Three new confirmed cases including two deaths of EVD were reported by WHO AFRO, two adults and one child. Initial genomic sequencing at INRB Pathogen Genomic Sequencing laboratory in Kinshasa indicate that the new cases likely represent a new flare-up event from the 2018-2020 North Kivu/Ituri outbreak. WHO AFRO elevated the number of identified contacts to 369 and the number of monitored contacts to 308 (ECDC).
• China reported two new cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H9N2) were reported from China. Both cases were children with mild symptoms. No further cases were detected among contacts of these patients (ECDC).
• China reported six new cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N6) virus, including two deaths. All new cases were adults with onset of symptoms in August and October 2021 who had exposure to poultry. No further cases were detected among contacts of these cases (ECDC).
• Mozambique, Yemen, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have reported most of the new cholera cases since the last update on 24 September 2021 (ECDC).
• Austria, United States. Two new cases of human infection with swine influenza A(H1N2)virus variant were reported in September 2021 from Austria and the United States of America (Ohio) (ECDC).

Of note

• World. Afghanistan, India and Pakistan were among 11 countries singled out by U.S. intelligence agencies on Thursday as being “highly vulnerable” in terms of their ability to prepare for and respond to environmental and societal crises caused by climate change. In a new National Intelligence Estimate, the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) predicts that global warming will increase geopolitical tensions and risks to U.S. national security in the period up to 2040 (Reuters).
• Central America and Mexico. Central America is a region regularly exposed to natural hazards, affecting the coping capacity and resilience of the local population. Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic threaten food security, leaving 8.2 million people in need of food assistance. The pandemic also increased violence and displacement, with around 1.7 million people internally displaced and more than 900,000 refugees and asylum seekers (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. The University Vaccine Requirement Checker notes universities that require a COVID-19 Vaccine.

As notable cases:

• Russia. Moscow will reintroduce COVID-19 lockdown measures from Oct. 28, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday, with supermarkets and pharmacies the only shops allowed to stay open in an effort to cut soaring infections and deaths (Reuters).
• Australia. Millions in Melbourne are readying to come out of the world’s longest COVID-19 lockdown later on Thursday even as cases hover near record levels, with pubs, restaurants and cafes rushing to restock supplies before opening their doors (Reuters).
• Thailand. Thailand will let vaccinated visitors from 46 countries forgo COVID-19 quarantine from next month (Reuters).
• China. Parts of northern China are bracing for more COVID-19 curbs as a wave of cases raises concerns of a broader outbreak, with three areas enforcing lockdowns, some schools halting classes, and an aerospace firm delaying work on a rocket project (Reuters).
• Israel. Individual tourists who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to enter Israel from month, the government said on Thursday, further easing curbs on foreign arrivals that were imposed when the pandemic broke out (Reuters).
• France. French citizens, residents, and travellers to the country may have to hold a Health Pass until July 2022 in order to access indoor areas like restaurants, bars, shopping centres, planes, and hospitals, among others (SchegenVisaInfo).
• European Union. Following several suggestions, the European Union countries are trying to reach an agreement, which would allow travellers to move freely within the bloc without being subject to strict COVID-19 restrictions, such as testing and quarantine (SchengenVisaInfo).

Global cases and deaths. As of 25 October, Johns Hopkins University counts 243,785,430 COVID-19 cases and 4,950,992 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 25 October 242,688,319 cases and 4,932,928 deaths.

As notable cases:

• Russia. Russia has reported “isolated cases” of COVID-19 with a subvariant of the Delta variant that is believed to be even more contagious, the state consumer watchdog’s senior researcher said on Thursday (Reuters).
• United Kingdom. Britain reported 52,009 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the highest daily amount since July 17, and 115 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to government data (Reuters).
• Russia, Europe, Asia. Russia reported a record high number of daily COVID-19 cases and some central European countries imposed fresh restrictions on Monday, as a new wave of the pandemic gathered pace. In Asia, the Red Cross called for urgent help for Papua New Guinea and China’s latest outbreak forced the capital Beijing to delay its annual marathon and step up other curbs, less than four months before it hosts the Winter Olympics (US News).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 24 October, Our World in Data reports 48.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 6.87 billion doses have been administered globally, and 25.74 million are now administered each day. Only 3.1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 21 October over 6.65 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• Sub-Saharan Africa. A lack of access to vaccines is dampening economic recovery in sub-Saharan Africa and the region will lag behind developed nations for years, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday (Reuters).
• Poland is planning to make third doses of the coronavirus vaccine available to all adults “over the next few weeks”, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday (Reuters).
• India. After a slow beginning in the middle of January, India’s immunisation campaign has covered three-quarters of its 944 million adults with at least one dose but only 31% with two (Reuters).
• United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on booster doses of all three COVID-19 vaccines currently in use in the United States (CIDRAP). Pfizer and its partner BioNTech say their data supports authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine in kids 5 to 11. The Food and Drug Administration released the companies’ briefing document Friday morning in a prelude to a meeting of expert advisers to the agency scheduled for Tuesday. The companies studied a 10 microgram vaccine dose in children ages 5 to 11, a third of the dose used for adults and older children (NPR).

Other COVID-19 impacts

• Brain fog can persist 8 months after COVID diagnosis. Adult COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized or visited the emergency department (ED) at a New York City hospital still had cognitive impairments an average of 8 months after diagnosis, according to a research letter today in JAMA Network Open (CIDRAP).

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.