VOA慢速英语--随着新冠变种病毒的传播 巴西医院面临压力

Brazil Hospitals Face Pressure as Coronavirus Variant¹ Spreads

Many of Brazil's hospitals face severe overcrowding as another version, or variant, of the new coronavirus spreads in the country.

Over the past week, Brazilian governors have tried to persuade President Jair Bolsonaro to offer a plan for states to slow the nation's COVID-19 outbreak. The plan was to include a curfew, a ban on crowded events and limits on non-necessary services. Bolsonaro has rejected such plans.

The result of the effort, presented Wednesday, was a one-page document urging support for restricting activity, but not providing specific measures. Six governors chose not to support the document.

Piaui state's Governor Wellington Dias told The Associated Press the pressure on hospitals must be eased. He said a growing numbers of patients will have to face COVID-19 without a hospital bed or any hope of treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU).

"We have reached the limit across Brazil; rare are the exceptions," said Dias, who leads the governors' group. "The chance of dying without assistance is real."

In Brazil's southern Sao Paulo state, at least 30 patients died this month while waiting for ICU beds. That report was published Wednesday by the news site G1. In Santa Catarina state, also in the south, 419 people were waiting to be moved to ICU beds. In neighboring Rio Grande do Sul, health officials said the ICU capacity is at 106 percent.

Alexandre Zavascki is a doctor in Rio Grande do Sul's capital, Porto Alegre. He described a continuous flow of hospital patients who arrive struggling to breathe. "I have a lot of (co-workers) who, at times, stop to cry. This isn't medicine we're used to performing routinely. This is medicine adapted for a war," Zavascki said.

He said much of the public is not recognizing the seriousness of the current virus spread. "We see a good part of the population refusing to see what's happening, resisting the facts. Those people could be next to step inside the hospital and will want beds. But there won't be one."

Zavascki called for the government to enact² "more rigid³ measures."

Last year, the Supreme⁴ Court – over the president's objections – upheld the right of cities and states to put restrictions⁵ on public activities. Bolsonaro condemned⁶ restrictions, saying the economy needed to keep running and that keeping people apart would cause problems.

The most recent virus spread appears to be caused by the P1 variant. Brazil's health minister said last month that it is three times as transmissible as the first coronavirus version. It is believed to have started spreading in the Amazonian city Manaus in January.

Last week, Brazil reported more than 10,000 deaths. That is the highest number since the coronavirus health crisis began. The failure to slow the spread of the virus is a concern. The director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke⁷ about the situation.

"In the whole country, aggressive use of the public health measures, social measures, will be very, very crucial," he said in a press briefing last Friday.

Brazil has experience with mass vaccination⁸ campaigns. But COVID-19 vaccines⁹ have faced delays. Only 5.5 percent of the population has been vaccinated¹⁰ so far.

Brazil's national council of state health secretaries last week called for the establishment of a national curfew. It also suggested ordering people to remain in their homes in areas facing overcrowded hospitals.

Bolsonaro has resisted such measures. "I won't decree it," he said during an event Monday. "And you can be sure of one thing: My army will not go to the streets" to enforce stay-at-home orders.

Words in This Story

specific –adj. special or particular

adapt – v. to change to become suitable for a new situation

rigid – adj. not able to be easily changed

isolate¹¹ – v. to put or keep (someone or something) in a place or situation that is separate from others

transmissible – adj. able to be transmitted, or spread

crucial – adj. extremely important or necessary

decree – v. officially order something

1 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

2 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

3 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

9 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

10 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

11 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。