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

• Colombia. Colombia deployed a new unit of 14,000 military personnel on Wednesday to increase government control of a conflict hotspot near the Venezuelan border, where multiple armed groups compete for control of cocaine production (Reuters).
• Mali. Sixteen soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in an attack in central Mali on Wednesday, security and health officials in the war-torn Sahel state said (Daily Sun).
• Nigeria. Armed men killed at least 18 people and set ablaze cars and shops in Nigeria’s Zamfara state, where the government has imposed a telecoms blackout as part of a security operation against groups of kidnappers (MSN).
• Tunisia. Tunisian security forces on Wednesday raided the studios of the opposition Zitouna channel, days after one of its main presenters was arrested over TV comments critical of President Kais Saied (MEE)

Natural Disasters

• Pakistan. More than 20 people, mostly children, died and above 300 injured on October 7, when an earthquake hit Hernai district in Balochistan (ECCR).
• China. On 6 October, heavy rain was reported in north China, leading to casualties, displacement, and damage (ECCR).
• Colombia. Since the beginning of the month, heavy rain, strong winds have been reported across seven Municipalities in the departments of Norte de Santander (north-east Colombia), Antioquia (north-west Colombia), La Guajira (northern Colombia) and Quindío (west-central Colombia), resulting in casualties, displacement, and damage (ECCR).
• Argentina. Several wildfires are burning across Córdoba Province (northern Argentina), resulting in fatalities and evacuations (ECCR).
• Canary Islands. A buildup of ash and dust from the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano on the runway forced authorities in Spain’s La Palma to close the island’s airport on Thursday, air traffic operator AENA (AENA.MC) said (Reuters).
• Middle East. The Middle East remains one of the world’s most vulnerable regions when it comes to ecological threats, says a global report compiled by the Australian-based Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) (NUAE).

Health

• World. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually (Reuters).
• North Korea‘s most vulnerable risk starvation after it slipped deeper into isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The worsening humanitarian situation could turn into a crisis said Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (Reuters). COVID-19 aid supplies have arrived in North Korea but are being held in quarantine in its seaport of Nampho, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, as the isolated nation shows few signs of easing strict border lockdowns (Reuters).

Of note

• World. ‘Containergeddon’: Supply crisis drives Walmart and rivals to hire their own ships (Reuters).
• World. COVID is changing medical fly-in missions — and it might be for the better (NPR).

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:

• Canada. Federal employees will be required to declare their full vaccination status through an online portal by Oct. 29. Workers and passengers age 12 and older on trains, planes and marine transport operating domestically – which are federally regulated – must show they have been inoculated by Oct. 30 (Reuters).
• Israel. A detailed announcement about allowing vaccinated tourists into Israel is expected at the beginning of next week, a Health Ministry’s spokesperson said Wednesday (JPost).
• Europe. ECDC suggests ending EU traffic light system for travel – Advises govts to base their system on vaccination rates (Schengenvisainfo)

Global cases and deaths. As of 07 October, Johns Hopkins University counts 236,661,578 COVID-19 cases and 4,831,361 deaths, and the WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 06 October 235,673,032 cases and 4,814,651 deaths.

As notable cases:

• United States. Rural areas across the United States are in crisis as Covid-19 overwhelms some hospitals, but the situation is especially dire in Alaska, which has the highest US rate of Covid cases and recently turned to emergency measures to allow the rationing of healthcare at 20 medical centers across the state (Guardian).
• Russia. Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit a record for the third time this month on Tuesday, and daily new infections once again exceeded 25,000 — a surge that comes as vaccination rates in the country remain stagnantly low and the government shuns imposing tough restrictions to stem the spread (AP).

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 06 October, Our World in Data reports 46.1% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 6.41 billion doses have been administered globally, and 22.78 million are now administered each day. Only 2.4% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 05 October over 6.23 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• Africa. Moderna plans to invest up to $500 million to build a factory in Africa to make up to 500 million doses of mRNA vaccines each year, including its COVID-19 shot, as pressure grows on the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture drugs on the continent (Reuters).
• Australia. BHP Group (BHP.AX), the world’s largest listed mining company, announced on Thursday that from the end of January all workers and visitors entering its workplaces in Australia will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (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.