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

• Mali. On 3 December, an unknown armed group attacked a bus transporting local population to the weekly market in Bandiagara, near the village of Songho in Central Mali. After killing the bus driver, they put the bus on fire with all the passengers inside. The Songho Gare bridge is frequently sabotaged by armed groups, and the axes in the area are often subject to irregular controls. The civilian population in the Centre is increasingly victim of attacks and other forms of violence as well as restrictions of movement by armed groups limiting their access to livelihood and basic services (ERCC).
• Nigeria. On 4 December, non-state armed groups fired at least five long-range rockets, which landed on civilian residence areas and on open area in vicinity of Maiduguri International Airport, Borno State, Northeast Nigeria. The explosions caused significant material damage, while no human casualties were reported (ERCC).
• Niger. At least 12 soldiers and “dozens of terrorists” have been killed in a battle in western Niger, the defence ministry says, in the conflict-wracked “three borders” zone (Guardian).
• Ukraine. Over the last few weeks, Russian military forces have been massing on the border of Ukraine. This has prompted widespread concern that Russia may once again seek to invade Ukraine (UN Dispatch).
• Ethiopia. Ethiopian forces have recaptured the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha from rebellious Tigrayan forces, the government said on Monday, the latest sign of the government retaking territory (Reuters).
• Myanmar. An army vehicle plowed into a peaceful march by anti-government protesters in military-ruled Myanmar’s biggest city, reportedly killing at least three people, witnesses and a protest organizer said (AP).
• Belgium. Police fired teargas and used water cannons on Sunday to disperse protesters pelting officers with cobblestones and fireworks as a demonstration in Brussels over government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions turned violent (Reuters).

Natural Disasters

• Indonesia. The activity of  Mount Semeru, located in Lumajang Regency (East Java Province), is ongoing. Six explosions have been recorded after the main event occurred on 4 December, where pyroclastic flows affected several parts of Lumajang Regency (ERCC).
• India. The passage of the tropical storm JAWAD over western Bay of Bengal (near the coastal area of far northern Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and south-western West Bengal) on 4-5 December, caused very heavy rain that has resulted in evacuations and damage (ERCC).
• Colombia. Heavy rain has been affecting north-western Colombia (in particular the Antioquia Department) since early December, causing flash floods that have resulted in casualties and damage (ERCC).

Health

• Ethiopia. Millions of people in Ethiopia could be pushed deeper into hunger as the World Food Programme (WFP) faces a major funding shortfall that threatens its operations there over the coming six months, the UN agency warned on Monday (UN News).

Migration

• Bosnia and Herzegovina. Up to 4,000 refugees and migrants are currently present in Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the UN, of which around 2,200 are accommodated in the five EU-funded reception centres located in the Sarajevo and Una Sana Cantons (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:

• European Union. European Union health ministers will discuss the coronavirus pandemic and the spread of the Omicron variant on Tuesday, but are not expected to make any decision on easing travel restrictions, three sources told Reuters.
• South Korea recognises the vaccination status of Korean citizens who were vaccinated overseas but not foreigners, unless they entered the country under a quarantine exemption, leaving some foreign residents vaccinated overseas effectively barred from places such as restaurants, cafes and cinemas (Reuters).
• Slovakia‘s health minister said on Monday he would ask the cabinet to extend a lockdown aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 infections by one week until Dec. 16 (Reuters).
• Italy tightened curbs on Monday on people still not vaccinated against COVID-19, limiting their access to an array of places and services (Reuters).
• Poland‘s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his government would present a new package of pandemic restrictions this week (Reuters).

Global cases and deaths. As of 06 December, Johns Hopkins University counts 266,238,220 COVID-19 cases and 5,260,267 deaths. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 06 December 265,194,191 confirmed cases, including 5,254,116 deaths.

As notable cases:

• South Africa is preparing its hospitals for more admissions, as the Omicron coronavirus variant pushes the country into a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday (Reuters).
• United Kingdom. Britain on Monday reported 51,459 further cases of COVID-19 and 41 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to official data (Reuters).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 05 December, Our World in Data reports 55% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 8.21 billion doses have been administered globally, and 33.87 million are now administered each day. Only 6.2% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 04 December over 7.93 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• Africa. COVID shots are finally arriving, but Africa can’t get them all into arms (Reuters).
• South Africa. South Africa’s Biovac Institute will start making Pfizer-BioNTech’s (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccine early next year after receiving the drug substance from Europe, a Pfizer executive said on Monday (Reuters).
• Philippines. Over the course of just three days this week the country vaccinated 7.6 million people ages 12 and above. 34.53% of the country is now fully vaccinated (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.