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

• Eswatini. Since last May, Eswatini is experiencing extended and violent protests by large sectors of civil society demanding democratic reforms. Deployed security forces have responded heavy-handed by detaining, arresting, injuring and killing protestors. The unstable security situation has resulted in suspension of the World Food Program assistance, and there is the concern that food insecurity may deteriorate further (ERCC).
• Mali. The UN Special Representative for Mali told the Security Council on Friday that despite collective efforts, “the reality is that the security situation has deteriorated and the crisis is deepening”, across the northwest African nation (UN News).
• Ethiopia’s prime minister has called on citizens to redouble their efforts to combat the rival Tigray forces who claim to have seized key cities on a major highway leading to the capital (ABC). Ethiopia’s government accused rebellious Tigrayan forces of killing 100 youths in the key town of Kombolcha (Reuters).
• Uganda. A recent surge in bomb attacks has set Ugandan authorities on a hunt for the perpetrators. A blast has killed at least two children in a Ugandan village as the country grapples with the third bomb attack in a week (Al Jazeera in MSN).
• Yemen. At least 29 civilians were killed or wounded in north Yemen when ballistic missiles launched by the rebel Houthi movement hit a religious school and mosque, the country’s government says (BBC).
• Bangladesh, India. Hindu-Muslim violence crosses border from Bangladesh to India (Guardian)
• Brazil. Brazilian police killed at least 25 people in a warlike operation against a heavily armed criminal gang on Sunday, marking a violent escalation in the country’s ongoing struggle against sophisticated criminal groups (WaPo).

Natural Disasters

• United States. Heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms (due to the so-termed “Nor’easter” extratropical cyclone) have been affecting the New England (north-eastern USA) since 26 October, causing flash floods and a number of severe-weather related incidents (particularly due to strong winds) that have resulted in evacuations and damage (ERCC).
• Colombia. Heavy rain has been affecting Antioquia, Meta and Putumayo Departments (northern, central and southern Colombia, respectively) since 26 October, triggering landslides and causing floods that have resulted in casualties and damage (ERCC).
• Italy. Heavy rain and strong winds continues to affect the Sicily Region (southern Italy) since 23 October, causing floods and a number of severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in more casualties and damage (ERCC).

Health

• Angola. The World Food Programme (WFP) Southern Africa Seasonal Update (21 October) flagged western and southern provinces of Angola as area of high concern. Recent IPC report shows that 1.58 million people are likely to be food insecure (out of which 416,600 people in IPC4) throughout end of 2021 and until March 2022. Malnutrition sharply increased affecting thousands of children. Deaths among children and adult population are reported (ERCC).
• Greece reported once case of West Nile Virus and no deaths between 22 and 28 October 2021  (ECDC).
• India, Brazil. 51473 new cases of Chikungunya virus disease have been reported since the week’s 39 CDTR report, the majority from India (40037) and Brazil (11233) (ECDC).
• India, Brazil, Pakistan, Colombia, Vietnam. Since the previous CDTR published on week 39, 133797 new cases of Dengue have been reported, the majority from India (46068), Brazil (31839), Pakistan (22603), Colombia (5710) and Vietnam (5233) (ECDC).
• Congo (DRC). One new confirmed and fatal case of EVD (Ebola) was reported by WHO. WHO raised the number of identified contacts to 589 and the number of monitored contacts to 517 (ECDC).

Of note

• China. China’s big factories just had their worst month since the Covid-19 pandemic began, underscoring the scale of the slowdown in the world’s second largest economy and the supply challenges facing their customers (CNN).

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:

• Israel on Monday began welcoming individual tourists for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic (AP).

Global cases and deaths. As of 1 November, Johns Hopkins University counts 246,889,661 COVID-19 cases and 5,003,021 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 1 November 246,357,468 cases and 4,995,412 deaths.

As notable cases:

• Europe. The most recent update of maps by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has shown that the COVID-19 situation has started to worsen in several EU Member States (SchengenVisaInfo).
• United Kingdom. Britain is at the peak of a coronavirus surge, just over three months after all coronavirus restrictions were lifted. The most recent wave shows the positive impact of Britain’s vaccination rollout: Far fewer Covid hospital admissions and deaths have followed the rise in cases than in previous waves (NYT).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 31 October, Our World in Data reports 49.5% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 7.07 billion doses have been administered globally, and 26.65 million are now administered each day. Only 3.6% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 29 October over 6.83 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• United States. Children as young as 5 may be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the U.S. as soon as next week (NPR).

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.