World Status Report

November 3, 2021

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

  • Ethiopia. Authorities in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday urged residents to prepare to defend their neighbourhoods after rebellious forces from Tigray region, who have been fighting the central government for a year, indicated they might advance on the city (Reuters).
  • Mali. Seven Malian soldiers were killed on Saturday in two separate attacks on patrols in the centre-west of the country, the army said, the latest bloodshed to indicate violence is shifting southward into previously peaceful areas (Reuters).
  • Afghanistan. At least 15 people were killed and 34 wounded when two explosions followed by gunfire hit Afghanistan’s biggest military hospital in Kabul, a Taliban security official said on Tuesday (Reuters).

Natural Disasters

  • Iraq. Heavy rain and thunderstorms have affected Erbil Governorate (Kurdistan region) on 29-30 October, causing floods and leading to casualties and damage (ERCC).
  • Indonesia. Since 29 October, flooding caused by heavy rainfall has been affecting different parts of Indonesia, resulting in damage (ERCC).
  • Philippines. Heavy rainfall occurred in Aklan Province (Panay Island, Western Visayas Region, central Philippines) on 29 October, causing flash floods and triggering landslides (ERCC).

Health

  • Namibia suspended imports of live poultry, birds and poultry products from Germany and the Netherlands on Monday after outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu in the European countries (Reuters).
  • India. Intermittent rain and winds led to a rare drop in pollution in India’s capital last month, with residents breathing the cleanest air in at least four years, but authorities warn that air quality is set to drop sharply in November (Reuters).

Migration

  • Algeria. The political conflict in Western Sahara, unresolved for over four decades, has left tens thousands of Sahrawi refugees stranded, with 80% of the refugees dependent on humanitarian assistance for their minimum daily food intake (ERCC).
  • Mexico. A caravan of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers from Central America and the Caribbean resumed its trek through southern Mexico on Monday, despite concerns that half of them could be injured or sick, including some from dengue fever (Reuters).

Of note

  • China. The Chinese government has told families to keep daily necessities in stock in case of emergencies, after COVID-19 outbreaks and unusually heavy rains that caused a surge in vegetable prices raised concerns about supply shortages (Reuters).

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:

  • Australia. Australia’s biggest city will lift more COVID-19 curbs for vaccinated residents ahead of schedule next week (Reuters).
  • Japan. Japan confirmed on Tuesday plans to gradually ease COVID-19 border curbs as early as next Monday, while daily limits on the numbers of border entrants would be raised to 5,000 people later this month from 3,500, national broadcaster NHK said (Reuters).
  • China. China will not give up on its zero-tolerance policy towards local COVID-19 cases any time soon, some experts said, as the policy has allowed it to quickly quell local outbreaks, while the virus continues to spread outside its borders (Reuters). More than 30,000 visitors to the Shanghai Disneyland theme park were kept within the park’s gates on Sunday and forced to undergo Covid-19 testing after a customer tested positive for the virus, a move that underscores China’s eradication efforts (WSJ).
  • Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen declared the country reopen and ready for a new way of life today after hitting vaccination targets that made it one of the most vaccinated countries in south Asia (Guardian).
  • Europe. The European authorities are carrying out an investigation after it was found out that the digital key that is used to sign and verify the EU COVID-19 Certificate has been leaked. These illegal actions have been highly condemned by the EU spokespersons as well as security researchers who said that the fake certificates might cause travel inconveniences for the holders of the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate since the validity of the certificates is now being questioned (SchengenVisaInfo).

Global cases and deaths. As of 02 November, Johns Hopkins University counts 247,274,026 COVID-19 cases and 5,009,007 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 01 November 246,594,191 cases and 4,998,784 deaths.

As notable cases:

  • Netherlands. Dutch health authorities are to decide on Tuesday whether to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for adults, while the government weighs a new package of restrictions, amid the latest surge in new infections (Reuters).
  • The United Kingdom recorded 40,077 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and 40 deaths of people who had tested positive for the disease within 28 days, government data showed (Reuters).
  • Greece officials alarmed by the steep rise in Covid-19 infections are poised to implement a new round of restrictive measures for those who remain unvaccinated (Guardian).
  • Russia may need the army’s help to build field hospitals for Covid patients as officials battle rampant outbreaks that have led to a nationwide workplace shutdown (Guardian).
  • Germany‘s COVID-19 incidence rate surged to over 150 for the first time since May on Monday (Nov 1), prompting concerns of a rampant fourth wave as the country wrestles with a change of government (CNA).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 01 November, Our World in Data reports 49.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 7.1 billion doses have been administered globally, and 28.03 million are now administered each day. Only 3.7% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 01 November over 6.89 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

  • Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s health ministry has approved the use of China’s Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O) COVID-19 vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, it said on Monday, adding that the country aimed to achieve herd immunity by the end of December (Reuters).
  • Mexico‘s health ministry said it had on Saturday received nearly 6 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses against COVID-19 as pressure grows on the government to widen its vaccination roll-out to include 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.