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

• Kenya. A police officer shot six people dead in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday and then killed himself. The incident is still under investigation. Angry residents near where the incident took place later set fire to tires on a road in a protest against the violence (Reuters).
• Gambia. Police fired tear gas on Monday to disperse protesters on the streets outside the capital Banjul, who were contesting the re-election of President Adama Barrow (Reuters).
• Haiti.  Three missionaries who were kidnapped in Haiti in October have been released. The incident has highlighted Haiti’s dire kidnapping problem, which has worsened in recent months amid economic troubles and political upheaval (Reuters).
• India. Indians outraged by the security forces’ mistaken killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland state held funeral rites for the dead on Monday amid intense security and sporadic internet outages aimed at damping unrest in the remote northeastern region (Reuters).
• Pakistan. The mob killing of a Sri Lankan man in Pakistan who was accused of blasphemy sparked protests in both countries. More than one hundred people in Pakistan have been arrested in relation to the incident (BBC).

Natural Disasters

• Indonesia. On 6 December at 10.54 UTC, Mount Semeru, located in East Java Province,  erupted again and an ash column was observed approximately 1,000 m above the peak. The number of casualties, following the main eruption of 4 December has been rising (ERCC).
• United States. Heavy rain and strong winds have been affecting the Hawaii State since the past week, causing floods, river overflows and resulting in widespread damage (ERCC).
• Bolivia. Heavy rain has been affecting central, western and eastern Bolivia (in particular Cochabamba, La Paz and Santa Cruz Departments, respectively) over the past few days, causing floods that have resulted in damage (ERCC).

Health

• World. Healthcare disruptions linked to the coronavirus pandemic helped malaria kill 69,000 more people in 2020 than the previous year, but a worst-case scenario was averted, the World Health Organization said on Monday (Reuters).
• Mali. Mali has indefinitely suspended exports of rice, maize and other grains to protect its food supply as the United Nations warned of worsening hunger in West Africa, the minister of trade and industry said on Tuesday (Reuters).
• United Kingdom. The United Kingdom saw a record rise in the number of deaths caused by alcohol misuse last year, which public health officials said was linked to the wider social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (Reuters).

Migration

• Mexico. Mexican officials have sped up the transfer of thousands of migrants from southern Mexico to other regions as northern border states prepare to receive asylum seekers sent back to Mexico from the United States (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:

• Sweden will reintroduce a raft of measures to curb rising COVID-19 infections, urging renewed social distancing and the use of masks in public transportation, the government said on Tuesday (Reuters).
• Norway introduced stricter rules on Tuesday to limit the spread of Covid, including a cap on the number of visitors in private homes and shortening the hours bars and restaurants can serve alcohol (Guardian).

Global cases and deaths. As of 07 December, Johns Hopkins University counts 266,925,825 COVID-19 cases and 5,268,520 deaths. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 06 December 265,194,191 confirmed cases, including 5,254,116 deaths.

Vaccination campaigns around the world continue. As of 06 December, Our World in Data reports 55.2% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 8.24 billion doses have been administered globally, and 33.99 million are now administered each day. Only 6.3% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. The WHO COVID-19 dashboard reports as of 06 December over 7.95 billion administered vaccine doses.

As notable cases:

• Israel. Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said Tuesday that it is possible Israelis will soon become eligible for a fourth shot of the COVID vaccine (Times of Israel).
• Mexico City officials will begin offering a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to residents over the age of 60 on Tuesday, officials said, part of a government plan to roll out booster shots (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.