VOA慢速英语--非洲缺乏冠状病毒记录引发了人们对“无声传染病”的担忧

In Africa, Lack of Coronavirus Records Raises Fear of 'Silent Epidemic¹'

When the novel coronavirus hit Tanzania in April, President John Magufuli called for three days of prayer to ask for God's protection. A month later, he declared victory over the virus and invited travelers to return to his nation.

His decision to reopen concerned the World Health Organization (WHO) because there was almost no information on the spread of the virus in Tanzania. The country is home to 55 million people and has one of the weakest health care systems in East Africa.

In many African nations there is a lack of good, trustworthy information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. Some governments do not want to admit that the epidemic exists. Other nations cannot do testing because they are so affected² by poverty and conflict.

The Reuters news agency examined the latest information about the disease. It found that Africa, with a population of 1.3 billion people, had over 493,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 11,600 deaths. To understand these low numbers, Latin America has half the number of people, but 2.9 million cases and 129,900 deaths.

The official numbers make it appear that COVID-19 has affected relatively³ few people in Africa, but the truth may be much worse.

WHO special envoy⁴ Samba Sow warned on May 25 of a possible "silent epidemic" if testing was not given a high priority⁵.

By July 7, 4,200 tests per million people had been carried out across the continent. That information comes from a Reuters study of reports from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. That compares with averages of 7,650 in Asia and 74,255 in Europe.

Many health workers, diplomats⁶ and local officials told Reuters that tests were not available in most African countries. They also said that some governments will do just about anything to hide their infection rates, even if it means they will lose money from international health organizations.

"We cannot help a country against its own will," Michel Yao told Reuters. He is head of emergency operations for the WHO in Africa.

Trouble in Tanzania

When Tanzania confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 16, the government reportedly set up a group to work with the WHO, foreign embassies⁷ and international aid agencies. The group never met again, said two people who were involved.

"It's very clear the government does not want any information about the state of COVID in the country," said one aid official. Like many of those questioned by Reuters for this story, the official asked not to be identified for fear of having problems with political leaders.

Both Tanzania's health minister and a government spokesman⁸ did not answer telephone calls or emailed questions about the crisis⁹. The spokesman had earlier denied he was keeping information about the disease from the public.

Tanzania has not published nationwide coronavirus numbers since May 8. At that time, it had recorded 509 cases and 21 deaths.

Tanzania has received some $40 million from international organizations to fight coronavirus, two diplomats told Reuters. But it missed out on "tens of millions" more, another official said.

By mid-May, the government decided¹⁰ to ease public health restrictions¹¹. Yet doctors and diplomats said the disease was far from contained.

The United Nations agency cannot force countries to share information. In late April, WHO officials expressed concern about the spread of the virus in Burundi. The country quickly expelled¹² four WHO experts.

Burundi was one of the first African countries to close its borders in March. But the country saw a growth in suspected cases after large groups gathered in the days before the May 20 elections, a health care provider said. He also did not want his name used in this article.

Others countries simply cannot share information because they do not have any. Their medical systems are too broken to gather reasonable numbers.

"Even at the best of times, collecting quality data from countries is not easy, said John Nkengasong. He is director of the Africa CDC.

For example, Islamist militants¹³ and ethnic¹⁴ militias¹⁵ operate across large parts of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. It is impossible for governments there to know how many have the virus.

Many other nations have very little ability to perform tests beyond their capitals, said Franck Ale of the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres - Doctors Without Borders.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

epidemic – n. a contagious¹⁶ disease that effects a lot of people

tourists – n. those people who visit a place for pleasure

data – n. information or numbers used by experts

envoy – n. the representative of a country or organization

priority – n. of high importance

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 embassies   

n.大使馆( embassy的名词复数 )；大使馆全体成员

参考例句：

• The representatives of other countries have their embassies there. 许多国家都在此设有大使馆。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Demonstrators protested outside the country's embassies all over Europe. 该国驻欧洲各国的大使馆外都有群众进行示威抗议。 来自辞典例句

8 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

9 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 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

12 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

13 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

15 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

16 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。