2020年经济学人 Covid-19:世界已做好准备(1)（在线收听）

International

来源于2月22日刊《国际》版块

Covid-19

2019新型冠状病毒

Watchful waiting

伺机而动

Experts predict that covid-19 will spread more widely; the world is getting ready

专家预测，covid-19将会更广泛地传播；世界已做好准备

“There are so many crises in Congo.” Gervais Folefack, who coordinates the emergency programmes run by the World Health Organisation (who) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has mastered the art of the understatement. The country has been shattered by war and corruption. “All the time we are responding to crises,” says Dr Folefack. He lists the most recent: Ebola, measles, cholera. To them, he may well have to add covid-19, a respiratory disease that originated in China. Those who would need to respond to a surge in covid-19 cases are already busy with the Ebola outbreak that began in 2018. “We are trying to prepare,” continues Dr Folefack, but there is simply not enough time.

瑞尔威·福莱法克在刚果负责协调世卫组织紧急项目，他已经掌握了轻描淡写的艺术:“刚果危机太多了。”这个国家被战争和腐败搞得支离破碎。”我们一直在应对危机，”福莱法克博士称。他列举了最近的危机：埃博拉、麻疹、霍乱。除此之外，他可能还得加上一种起源于中国的呼吸道疾病——covid-19。那些本就忙于应对始于2018年的埃博拉疫情的人们现在又需要应对covid-19病例激增。福莱法克博士说“我们正努力做准备”，但是时间根本不够。

So far 99% of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have been in China. Of the 1,000-odd cases outside mainland China, more than half have been on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Japan; the rest are scattered among 27 countries, mostly in Asia. Covid-19 has spread rapidly in China despite the government locking down entire cities for weeks. China’s efforts, along with the travel restrictions that many countries have imposed on its citizens, have slowed the virus’s progress. But many experts fear that it will inevitably become a pandemic. Health authorities are frantically trying to prepare.

到目前为止，99%的新冠状病毒确诊病例发生在中国。在中国大陆以外的1000多例确诊病例中，超过一半发生在停靠在日本的“钻石公主”号游轮上；其余的分布在27个国家，大部分在亚洲。尽管政府封锁了整个城市数周，Covid-19还是迅速传播开来。中国的努力，以及许多国家对中国公民实施的旅行限制，减缓了病毒的传播速度。但许多专家担心它将不可避免地成为一种流行病。卫生主管部门正竭尽全力做好准备。