ReliefWeb

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the total cases confirmed reached 573,509 as of 27 June 2020. A total of 8,980 have succumbed to the disease, while 372,643 have recovered as of 27 June. The outbreak of the virus has affected global and regional mobility in the form of various travel disruptions and restrictions.

To better understand how the pandemic affects global mobility, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has developed an online tool and database to register points of entry, exit and transit – such as airports, land and blue border crossing points where mobility restrictions and preparedness and response measures are in place to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response that is in line with International Health Regulations (IHR). These include: (1) Movement restrictions on entry and/or exit, (2) Changes in visa requirements, (3) Restrictions applied to certain nationalities to disembark at this location, (4) Changes in identification documents needed to disembark, (5) Medical measures applied such as Health Staffing/Medical Personnel, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Risk communication and community engagement (RCCE), Infection prevention and control (IPC) and Surveillance and Referral.

Between 18 and 25 June 2020, data was collected on 206 official locations across 17 countries across the region. These locations include: 98 land border crossings points, 66 airports, 42 blue border crossing points (including sea, river and lake ports). This work is based on the information collected by IOM Country offices in the Middle East and North Africa.