World Status Report

This report intends to give the UTD Community a snapshot of international risks, and other issues as reported by the linked official sources from the U.S. and other countries.

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

• South Africa. At least 40,000 South African businesses were looted, burnt or vandalised during widespread rioting that broke out after the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma, the government said Tuesday (AFP).
• Myanmar. The head of Russia’s state arms exporter said on Wednesday that Moscow was cooperating closely with Myanmar’s ruling junta to supply it with military hardware including aircraft (Reuters).
• Colombia. Protests against poverty and inequality resumed on Colombia’s independence day Tuesday as President Ivan Duque presented a $4 billion tax plan aimed at helping the government pay for social programs and pandemic-related expenses (AP).
• Mexico. Mexico’s president said Tuesday he will not accept vigilantes arming themselves, and suggested they are serving local political bosses or gangs (AP).

Natural Disasters

• China. After Tropical Cyclone CEMPAKA landfall, nearly 5 000 people were evacuated and several flights were cancelled in Yangjiang City. At least 12 people died, and about 100 000 individuals have been displaced in Zhengzhou City. CEMPAKA is forecast to weaken, as it moves westwards over southern Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces (ERCC).
• Pakistan. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms have been affecting north-western Pakistan since 19 July, causing floods, flash floods, and a number of severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in casualties and damage (ERCC).  
• Iran. Heavy rainfall, strong winds, and thunderstorms have been affecting most of Iran since 14 July, triggering floods and flash floods and causing a number of severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in casualties and damage (ERCC).
• Japan. Tropical Cyclone IN-FA, formed on 16 July, is moving westwards over the northern Philippine Sea. IN-FA is expected to intensify, and it is forecast to reach the Yaeyama Islands (Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan) in the morning of 23 July (ERCC).

Health

• India. More than 4,300 people have died of the deadly “black fungus” in India in a growing epidemic that mainly affects Covid-19 patients (BBC).
• World. 23 million children missed out on routine immunizations in 2020 due to the pandemic, with up to 17 million children likely not receiving a single vaccine in 2020. Countries risk resurgence of measles, polio, meningitis, or other vaccine-preventable diseases (WHO).
• World. Carbon dioxide emissions will rise to a record high in 2023 and continue rising afterward if countries implement their COVID-19 recovery plans as currently designed, falling short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C. (IEA)

COVID-19

International preventative measures against COVID-19, including entry restrictions and in-country mobility remain fluid, and can be imposed without prior notice. Details 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.  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.

As notable cases:

• Australia. Thirteen million people in Australia — about half the country’s population — woke up on Wednesday under some form of lockdown as the country struggles to contain outbreaks of the Delta variant across three states (NYT).
• Indonesia. Indonesia will extend coronavirus restrictions at least until Monday as the country celebrated a muted Eid al-Adha, traditionally marked by large gatherings. The country has surpassed India and Brazil with the largest number of daily cases in the world, establishing as an epicenter of the virus (NYT).
• United Kingdom. Face masks and other Covid restrictions could be reintroduced in England in as little as three weeks if hospital admissions rise above anticipated levels, scientists advising the government have warned (Guardian).
• United States. Updated guidance is coming about mask use and travel, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday (CNN).
• France. A new Covid health pass has come into effect in France amid a surge of new infections. From Wednesday, people need proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from Covid to enter most museums and cinemas (BBC).

Global cases and deaths. As of 21 July, Johns Hopkins University counts 191,590,043 COVID-19 cases and 4,121,477 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports 190,860,860 cases and 4,101,414 deaths.

As notable cases:

• United States.  The highly infectious Delta variant now accounts for an estimated 83 percent of new coronavirus cases in the United States (NYT).
• France. The highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant has become dominant in France, prime minister Jean Castex has said (Guardian).
• Italy. Coronavirus infections in Rome have increased fivefold over the past nine days, a boom believed to have been triggered by the European football championship celebrations (Guardian).
• Thailand. Coronavirus cases have reached a new daily high in Thailand, which has registered 13,002 new infections over the past 24 hours (Guardian).
• South Korea. South Korea reported a daily record of 1,784 coronavirus cases for Tuesday, breaking a mark set last week (Guardian).
• United Kingdom. The UK reported 46,558 new Covid-19 cases and 96 more deaths on Tuesday, according to government data (CNN). New COVID-19 cases in Britain have risen by nearly 41% in the last seven days (Reuters).
• Africa. Africa has recorded a 43% week-on-week rise in COVID-19 deaths, as hospital admissions increase rapidly and countries face shortages in oxygen and intensive care beds (WHO).
• Spain. The vast majority of new COVID-19 cases in Spain over the past five weeks have been in unvaccinated people, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Monday (Reuters).
• Turkey.  Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Turkey have risen to 8,780 – double a low point reached earlier in July (Reuters).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 20 July, Our World in Data reports 26.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 13.2% is fully vaccinated. 3.73 billion doses have been administered globally, and 30.84 million are now administered each day. Only 1.1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports over 3.56 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• South Africa. Pfizer-BioNTech to start producing Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa in 2022. When fully operational, the companies said annual vaccine production would exceed 100 million doses, to be distributed exclusively within African countries(CNN). It will rely on Pfizer facilities in Europe to make the vaccine substance and ship it to its Cape Town facility (NYT).
• Vietnam. The first test batch of Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine has been produced in Vietnam, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF and Vietnamese pharmaceutical firm Vabiotech said (Guardian).

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.