Archives: Situation Reports

Overseas Situation Report Monday 11th July 2021

By Mike Evans

“You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again.” – Pat Riley

As the virus moves in ever increasing ferocity around the world, and from country to country, it is increasingly difficult to know which countries one can travel to, as many governments change policy on travel on an almost daily basis.

This report looks at the general world of travel and what countries people can travel to and what restrictions are in place.

We will start with Europe and the area known as Schengen.

Despite the EU trying to work as “one” we are seeing many countries putting their own rules into place. Norway has imposed a mandatory quarantine requirement for arrivals from Luxembourg, due to an increase in the number of infections registered on the latter, Norway’s government has confirmed.

In addition, new changes have been applied to three regions in Finland and some European archipelagos. The new changes will take effect from July 12th and will be kept in place until further notice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) continues to advise all travellers not to travel to countries outside the EEA/Schengen and the United Kingdom, unless absolutely necessary.

According to the announcement of Norway’s authorities, the following European countries will remain in the green category, which includes territories considered safe based on their epidemiological situation; Belgium, Estonia, Bulgaria, France, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Croatia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Malta, Romania, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, the Vatican City and Austria.

According to the authorities in Norway, the following countries belong to the category of countries considered as highly affected by the virus. Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Monaco, Andorra, Spain, UK, Cyprus, and Portugal.

Fully vaccinated travellers can now freely enter the territory of Slovakia, as the country has changed its entry restrictions rules since July 9^th, putting to an end the traffic light system, which determines the nationals of which countries could enter Slovakia, depending on country of origin infection rates.

According to a press release issued by the Slovak authorities, the new system depends on the traveller’s vaccination status, thus, border crossings will be open for fully vaccinated passengers,

For those wanting to travel to Slovakia, the border control authorities require a registration form to be filled out after arrival. Categories exempted from this requirement are as the following list indicates:

• Children younger than 12
• Passengers transiting through Slovak territory
• Freight, bus and aircrews, train drivers, train crews and railway operators,
• Medical service drivers and crews who are transporting a patient, organs for transplantation, blood or blood substitutes,
• Funeral staff carrying deceased person or its remains

Each time a traveller enters the territory of Slovakia, he or she is obliged to register, with the following categories making an exception:

• Fully vaccinated people, whose first registration is valid for the next six months
• People who were recently vaccinated with the first dose of any vaccine
• People from 12 to 18 years of age, whose first registration is valid until August 9th
• People travelling for medical reasons, whose first registration is valid for seven days

Moreover, fully vaccinated travellers are considered those that have received the last dose of the Covid-19 vaccine 14 days before arrival but no longer than 12 months ago, whereas for single doses vaccinated travellers, at least 21 days need to pass since the dose was received.

Belgium’s government has decided to recognise the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India, which is currently not recognised on the Digital Covid-19 certificate used by European Union Member States, in order to ease the travel process for vaccinated passengers.

The decision has been announced by Belgium’s Minister of Development Co-operation, Meryame Kitir

Even though the Digital Covid-19 certificate does not recognise the Covlishield vaccine, individual EU countries can decide if they want to recognise specific vaccines approved by the World Health Organization, such as the Covishield one.

With the number of cases increasing in France the cost of testing is now being put onto the person rather than the state. Tests used for detecting the Covid-19 will no longer be free of charge for tourists visiting France, as the government decided on July 7th.

Following authorities’ decision, tourists wanting to leave France will have to pay €49 for a PCR test or €29 for a Rapid Antigen test. Tests used for detecting the Covid-19 will no longer be free of charge for tourists visiting France, as the government decided on July 7th.

This decision has raised fears that travellers will forge certificates attesting to negative Covid-19 tests so they don’t have to pay the money. Travellers found guilty of falsifying, selling, or using fake documents can be sentenced to three years in prison and fined €45,000.

Starting from July 12th, the residents of several more third countries will be eligible to enter Sweden for non-essential purposes, as the authorities have decided to adopt a recommendation of the Council of the EU in this regard.

The decision was taken on July 8th, and as a result, travellers from the following countries will be eligible to enter Sweden even for tourism and visiting friends and relatives: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Darussalam, Canada, Jordan, Kosovo, Montenegro, Qatar, Moldova and Saudi Arabia.

The Finnish authorities have decided to extend the current internal border controls with several Schengen area countries for another two weeks, the country’s Ministry of Interior has announced.

According to a press release of the same Ministry, the Finnish government has decided to continue internal border controls, which were set to expire on July 12th, until July 25th. The move has been taken in order to make sure that municipalities and joint municipal authorities have the necessary time to prepare for the implementation of health security measures under the Communicable Diseases Act.

The countries affected by the prolongation of the internal border controls are Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

On the other hand, the existing border controls with Lithuania, Slovenia, and Switzerland will end on Monday, July 12th.

The Ministry notes that Finnish citizens and residents always have the right to leave and return to the country.

As per the rest of the EU and Schengen nationals residing anywhere in the EU and Schengen area, the same will be permitted to enter if they:

• Have been fully vaccinated, and the final shot has been administered at least two weeks before
• Have been infected with Covid-19 and recovered within the last six months

And finally, for anyone dreaming of endless summers of the Costa del Sol, late-night buzz of the ancient towns and cities, fresh dishes, or wandering in the streets of Barcelona, Madrid, Grenada, and Seville, such dreams can now become a reality as Spain had decided to welcome vaccinated tourists since June 7th.

Spain is one of the European countries that has been seriously affected by Covid-19, and since the beginning of the pandemic, the country has reported a large number of cases and deaths. After having one of the most stringent lockdowns in Spring 2020, Spain reopened for summer in the same year. Still, in November, the latter entered a State of Emergency once again, leaving the country in continuous lockdown until May 9th, 2021.

Spain has not established a Covid-19 Passport yet, but the country is technically ready to connect to the EU Digital COVID Passport Gateway, With the vaccination rates increasing and the infection cases dropping day by day, Spain may only keep some of its restrictions in place. Travellers from most European Union and Schengen Area countries are allowed to enter Spain without being subject to the quarantine requirement, as long as they have low infection rates.

Almost all regions of Germany and Italy have just recently been excluded from the high-risk list of Spain due to the low infection rates prevailing in the countries. As such, Spain now allows entry for arrivals from these two countries without being required to present proof of vaccination, proof of recovery, or a negative Covid-19 test result. Likewise, all persons arriving from Covid-19 safe countries that have a reciprocal agreement with Spain but are non-EU Member States are also permitted to enter Spain.

So, to close, we can see that as many countries continue to allow tourists to enter, we must all be on our guard as the virus is still very much amongst us.

Until the next time, Stay Safe.

Total Cases Worldwide – 187,647,215

Total Deaths Worldwide – 4,049,350

Total Recovered Worldwide – 171,603,940

Total Active Cases Worldwide – 11,993,925 (6.4% of the total cases)

Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 175,653,290

Information and resources:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Overseas Situation Report Friday 9th July 2021

By Mike Evans

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building on the new.” – Socrates

On Wednesday of this week, the world reached another chilling milestone in the Covid-19 pandemic – the official death toll from the virus surpassed 4 million.

In total, three countries account for more than a third of all global deaths. The United States, which has the highest number of fatalities at 606,000, accounts for 15% of the global total, followed by Brazil and India.

The grim milestone comes as new cases and deaths are dropping in the US and Europe, where significant numbers of residents have been vaccinated. But some developing countries, such as Indonesia, are still facing surging outbreaks, as authorities struggle to secure enough vaccines to protect citizens.

The Delta variant, a more transmissible and possibly more dangerous strain of coronavirus, is also contributing to an increase in cases in some countries and regions. In the US, the Delta variant now makes up more than half of all new infections, according to estimates from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

An average of 7,900 Covid-19 deaths were reported each day over the past week, according to JHU. That is 46% less than the global peak of more than 14,700 daily deaths in January, but 57% higher than the pace of about 5,000 daily deaths from this time last year.

The global death toll exceeded 1 million on September 18th, 2020, 191 days after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. It took 115 days for the global death toll to hit 2 million, 88 days to surpass 3 million, and another 89 days to reach 4 million.

Given the difficulty in accurately tracking the spread of the virus, especially in the developing world, many experts believe the global death toll is likely significantly higher than the officially reported number.

For the rest of this report, we are taking a look at the weekly trends across the world.

We start with Europe, where we saw reported cases rise by 43%, an increase of 164,655 cases. Just as concerning, Europe saw a rise of 3% in deaths attributed to Covid-19 in the past 7 days making a total of 6,348. Russia had the highest death count at 4,827 followed by Germany with 206 and the Ukraine with 197. Three other countries, the United Kingdom, France and Italy all had over 150 deaths in the past week.

Of new cases reported, the United Kingdom had the highest number with a figure of 190,868, followed by Russia with 168,035. In Europe, the worrying factor for the past 7 days is that of the 47 countries which record their figures, 35 of them all recorded increases in cases with 29 countries recording 10%+ increases.

Next, we go to North America, which for this context includes the countries of Canada, USA and all of Central America and the Caribbean.

The weekly trend here is a rise of 11% in reported cases, 213,346 compared to 192,819 in the previous week. In deaths we have seen a 13% drop in the last 7 days. Of the 35 countries represented, 18 have had increases in cases. One good factor to report is that only 15 of the 35 countries recorded 3 deaths or more in the past week.

By definition of its population, the USA recorded the highest number of new cases at 99,909, up 5% from the previous week. Next highest was Mexico with 36,698 and Cuba with 23,584. Only Cuba of these three had an increase in deaths during the 7-day period, while both the USA and Mexico showed a decrease of 20% and 11% respectively for deaths compared to the previous week.

In Asia over the past 7 days 1,080,832 new cases were recorded, an increase of 12% on the previous week. With regards to deaths in the region there was a 2% increase to 17,284 deaths.

While India showed a decrease in cases by 9% there were a number of notable increases across the region.

Indonesia saw a 39% increase in the week to record 201,125 new cases, a 52% increase. Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Thailand all posted 30%+ increases and in Vietnam and Myanmar, infections more than doubled in the week.

Deaths in Asia were led by India, Indonesia and Bangladesh which, between these three countries, accounted for 65% of all the deaths in the region. On the plus side for India, they saw a 25% drop in fatalities in the past week compared to the previous week.

In South America, which for many weeks has been the hotbed of the pandemic, they have seen a drop of 13% in reported cases and a 9% drop in deaths.

Brazil, Columbia and Argentina lead the way with the highest number of infections in the week but all three are showing a drop in numbers compared to the previous week.

More signs that the current wave of infections is starting to recede in South America is that only Venezuela of all the countries has shown a small increase in reported cases this week. Every other country is showing a drop with some showing significant drops. Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador all showed drops of at least 30% compared to the previous seven days.

In terms of deaths reported in the last week only Venezuela and French Guiana have increased compared to the previous week, by just 8 and 6 deaths respectively.

To Africa next where the situation is not as positive.

In the past week there has been a 21% increase in record cases across the continent and more concerning a 25% increase in deaths.

As seen in previous waves, South Africa is bearing the brunt again of infections with an increase in the past 7 days of 23% recording 138,364 new cases. This is just under 50% of the total for the whole region with other countries, like Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Morocco all showing increases over 50% compared to the previous week.

South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia have recorded the most deaths in the past week, with South Africa recording 1,389 out of the total deaths in the region of 4,042. Vaccinations which according to every expert is the key to saving lives are few and far between in the Africa Continent and these figures bear this out with alarming clarity.

Finally, to Oceania, and in Fiji a big spike in infections this week shows they recorded 3,522 new cases compared to 1,878 the previous week, a massive 85% increase. Previously since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Fiji has been almost clear of infections. In fact, since the start they have only recorded 8,661 cases, so to see 5400 new cases in just 14 days is a very worrying concern for the people of Fiji. This is shown up when looking at the death statistics. Fiji has lost just 48 people to Covid-19 and 29 of them have come in the past 14 days. Let us hope that the vaccine programme is happening now in Fiji and all the other countries where we are seeing these spikes in infections.

Until the next time, Stay Safe.

Total Cases Worldwide – 186,356,010

Total Deaths Worldwide – 4,026,894

Total Recovered Worldwide – 170,495,131

Total Active Cases Worldwide – 11,833,985 (6.4% of the total cases)

Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 174,522,025

Information and resources:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/#weekly_table

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/07/world/global-covid-death-toll-4-million-intl-hnk/index.html

Overseas Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021

By Mike Evans

“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” – John F. Kennedy

In this report we look at the impact the pandemic has had on the lives and education of the young across the world. We focus on the report by the WHO and what they feel needs to be done to bring children back into the classroom.

In a recent report published by the WHO, they recommended that schools should remain open for as long as possible with adequate public health and social measures in place, and governments should use the summer months to implement measures that protect in-person schooling in the next school year, This report was from an international group of experts established by the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe, in its latest recommendations on schooling during Covid-19.

The updated recommendations come against the backdrop of rising infection rates in some countries in the Region, primarily due to the combination of the relaxation of public health and social measures, increased social mixing and vaccine inequity across the Europe.

“The summer months offer a valuable window of opportunity for governments to put in place the right set of measures that will help keep infection rates down and avoid resorting to school closures, which, as we have seen, have such a harmful effect on the education, social and mental well-being of our children and youth,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “The spread of new variants, coupled with the presence of pockets of unvaccinated people in school settings, means that there is no time to lose. The time to act is now. We can’t allow the pandemic to rob children of their education and development.”

“Despite most countries offering remote learning, the learning loss and impact of not being in school have been challenging for children. This is particularly so for vulnerable and marginalized children. Over the past year, parents and caregivers have tried to adapt to their ‘new’ learning environment, but we can’t risk having another year of disruptions,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. “We need to work together throughout the summer to ensure that children can go back to school safely and catch up with their learning.”

“We must get out of the Covid-19 caused crisis in education and health with more resilient education and health care systems, and pursue ambitious goals to recover education and transform it so that every student learns better, has stronger social and emotional skills, better health and well-being,” said Tao Zhan, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO-IITE). “We have to act now. The future of this generation is at stake.”

The updated recommendations focus on eight key points affecting children and schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic:

1. The use of PCR or rapid diagnostic antigen tests in school settings;
2. The need for studies that assess the effectiveness of risk-mitigation measures on infection control;
3. The importance of safeguarding educational outcomes, mental and social well-being;
4. The need to account for children living in vulnerable situations;
5. Changes in the school environment that benefit child health and infection control;
6. The importance of including children in all decision-making;
7. Vaccination strategies in school settings; and
8. Keeping schools open as the key overarching objective.

School closures should be considered only as a measure of last resort, if and when “large outbreaks occur or transmission in the community cannot be controlled by any other measures,” the TAG members note in their recommendations.

Across the WHO European Region, the pandemic had a dire impact on schooling during the 2020-2021 academic year. UNESCO’s monitoring of national distance learning solutions shows that 44 out of 53 countries in the WHO European Region closed their schools at the national level at the height of the pandemic in April 2020.

School closures have serious effects on the education, development and well-being of children and adolescents. In addition to depriving them of the necessary social interactions that support and promote their mental well-being, school closures led to remote learning arrangements that did not offer the same educational outcomes. In addition, even in the best settings, socially disadvantaged children and those in greater need of educational support have fallen behind, increasing social inequity between and within countries.

While most countries reopened their schools at the end of summer 2020, rising infection rates in the autumn and winter months led to more stringent measures across dozens of countries, including, in some areas, the closure of schools. However, research carried out in some Member States during the winter months of 2020 shows that SARC-CoV-2 incidence among students was lower than in the general population, with secondary infections in schools accounting for less than 1% of infections.

According to the report, in the 2020 to 2021 academic year, we saw the largest disruption to education in history. With these recommendations, we now have the evidence and tools to ensure that children and young people can return to in-person schooling safely.

Covid-19 is reported less frequently in children than in adults. Transmission in education settings can be limited if effective mitigation and prevention measures are in place. In school settings across the WHO European Region, more outbreaks are reported in secondary and high schools than in primary schools (settings with children up to 10–12 years of age).

Outbreaks in schools that involve only staff members are also observed. Data suggests that children and adolescents are followers, not drivers, of the pandemic, with a slower dynamic in younger children. There is, to date, no evidence that in-school transmission is a significant driver of increasing infection levels. However, the emergence of new variants of Covid-19, which have been shown to have increased transmissibility, require an ongoing risk assessment-based approach with appropriate in-school mitigation measures a pre-requisite to keeping schools open.

While precautions must be taken to control the spread of Covid-19 in the community, including through school-based measures, a balance must be struck between imposing such measures and ensuring that children are able to continue learning and socializing to the greatest extent possible.

All infection control measures have the potential to have adverse effects on educational outcomes, mental health, social well-being and health-related behaviours. It therefore is necessary to consider carefully the positive and negative effects of implementing them. Evidence suggests that learning loss and falls in school enrolment rates due to lockdown, school closures and even distance learning is several times higher in schools in the most deprived areas compared to those in less deprived areas.

Schools deliver essential functions beyond education that cannot be delivered online, including the opportunity for real-life interactions with peers, which is essential for healthy development. Online teaching therefore remains a suboptimal alternative. In addition, there is evidence that more children are experiencing food insecurity due to lack of school meals, and levels of violence against children increase when staying home during lockdowns and school closures.

In general, data shows that the factors influencing the impact of Covid-19 on learning proficiency are: adapting teaching to the new context; protecting child nutrition; and maximizing contact time.

The report finishes with a list of recommendations which include the following:

When closing schools, countries need to guarantee uninterrupted substitute and adapted services for those normally delivered in the school setting, such as special needs education, health services and school meals, where possible;

Countries should secure sufficient support for teaching to be adapted to the new situation and context to minimize learning losses;

Countries should guarantee affordable access to devices and facilities required for online learning and teaching, including functioning Internet connections for schoolchildren and teachers, regardless of whether schools are closed or open, and making sure students and teachers have sufficient digital skills; and Countries should establish hotlines for children and adolescents seeking psychological support.

The pandemic is a temporary thing while the education of the young is something that affects everyone in the future. Without the educated to fill the roles of industry and commerce in the future everyone and every country will suffer.

Until the next time, Stay Safe.

Total Cases Worldwide – 185,393,558

Total Deaths Worldwide – 4,009,289

Total Recovered Worldwide – 169,736,766

Total Active Cases Worldwide – 11,647,503 (6.3% of the total cases)

Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 173,746,055

Information and resources:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/342075