ASIA

China (Security threat level – 4): On 11 July 2022, officials in the city of Wugang, located in the central Henan province, imposed a three-day citywide lockdown following the detection of a single COVID-19 case in the city. During the lockdown, the city’s 320,000 residents are required to stay at home and are prohibited from traveling in their vehicles unless they have obtained official permission to travel under “closed-loop” conditions for an emergency situation. Moreover, residents are only allowed to leave their homes for COVID-19 testing, as authorities will deliver all their basic necessities to them. The latest implementation of strict COVID-19 prevention measures follows similar lockdowns in Anhui province in early July and is a part of China’s “zero-COVID” policy, which aims to eliminate the virus through mass testing and large-scale isolations.

Sri Lanka (Security threat level – 3): On the morning of 13 July 2022, Sri Lankan Prime Minister and acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a nationwide state of emergency and imposed a curfew in Western province — which encompasses the capital Colombo — amid ongoing unrest following news reports that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled to the Maldives. Following the departure of Rajapaksa, a large group of protesters broke through military barricades and stormed the prime minister’s office, located on Flower Road in central Colombo, demanding Wickremesinghe’s immediate resignation. Police officers and military personnel deployed tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to disperse the protesters; however, the crowd eventually entered the grounds of the prime minister’s office. At least 30 people were reportedly injured in the clashes. Wickremesinghe has ordered security forces to arrest anyone participating in unlawful gatherings and violating the current curfew in Western province. Train services to the province from elsewhere in the country have been suspended, although Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (VCBI/CMB) currently remains open, with air traffic operating as normal. In related developments, the speaker of Parliament has reiterated Rajapaka’s intention to resign from office on 13 July and continues to support Parliament’s agreement to vote for a new president on 20 July.

GOVERNMENT WARNINGS

Moldova (Security threat level – 2): On 12 July 2022, the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau issued a Security Alert, which reads in part as follows: “Bomb threats have been reported recently in various locations in Moldova. Moldovan police investigating each of the reported bomb threats were able to clear the locations and never found evidence of a bomb. These recent incidents underscore the need to exercise good situational awareness and report anything suspicious to local authorities.”