VOA慢速英语--亚洲各地新冠病毒病例激增 医院床位不足

Hospitals Short of Beds as Virus Cases Surge¹ across Asia

A new wave of COVID-19 infections, combined with limited hospital beds and vaccines³, is threatening countries across Asia.

Both India and Thailand reported record daily coronavirus cases Thursday.

India locked down its two largest cities, New Delhi and Mumbai, as the country passed 200,000 daily infections for the first time. Hospitals reported few remaining beds and limited oxygen supplies.

Avinash Gawande is an official at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Nagpur. "The situation is horrible," he said. "We are a 900-bed hospital, but there are about 60 patients waiting and we don't have space for them."

In the past eight days, India has set seven new records for daily cases of infection. There are 14.1 million total cases in India, an amount second only to the United States.

Rising infections are also threatening the medical care system in the Philippines and Thailand.

In the Philippine capital of Manila, COVID-19 infections reached 266,489, representing about 30 percent of the cases in the country.

Families of COVID-19 patients noted⁴ the difficulty of finding⁵ hospital beds. And some travelled longer distances outside the city for healthcare needs.

Thailand reported 1,543 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. It is the biggest rise since the start of the pandemic and the fourth record increase this week.

As Thailand was considering new restriction⁶ measures, its neighbor Cambodia ordered a lockdown of the capital, Phnom Penh, and the surrounding area. In only two months, cases have increased by almost 10 times in the Southeast Asian country.

Bangladesh also began a lockdown for one week starting Wednesday. The infection rate there has reached around 7,000 cases a day in the last two weeks. There were only 300 a day in February.

Vaccine² shortages⁷

Europe, meanwhile, passed one million COVID-19 deaths Wednesday. About 1.6 million cases appear each week.

Dr. Hans Kluge is an official with the World Health Organization. He said there are signs the virus is slowing in Europe, especially among people over 80 years old. But he said countries must keep social distancing measures and speed up vaccinations⁹.

Infections and deaths in Britain have greatly decreased since January. The country went under a long national lockdown and has a successful vaccination⁸ program.

But there is a large gap¹⁰ between rich and poor countries when it comes to vaccine access.

Thailand, for example, has vaccinated¹¹ only 0.4 percent of its population. It is far behind its wealthy neighbor of Singapore which has vaccinated 14.6 percent.

Some countries, including Australia, have to delay their vaccination goals after serious side effects led to restrictions¹² on AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

In Japan, the lack of vaccines and rising infections are now threatening the Tokyo Olympics. The games, first set for last year, were delayed because of the pandemic.

Johns Hopkins University researchers have now reported more than 138 million cases of coronavirus, including nearly 3 million deaths, around the world.

Words in This Story

lockdown- n. an emergency measure of keeping people in a secure¹³ place to avoid or prevent danger

access- n. - a way of being able to use or get something

1 surge   

n.汹涌，澎湃；vi.汹涌，强烈感到，飞涨；vt.放开，松手

参考例句：

• The surge travelled southwards along the coast.浪涛沿着海岸向南涌去。
• It failed to stimulate a surge of investment in industry.这没有能刺激工业投资的激增。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 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。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

6 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

7 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

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 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 gap   

n.缺口；间隔；差距；不足，缺陷

参考例句：

• We must see that there is no gap in our defence.我们必须确保我们的防御没有漏洞。
• There is a gap of five miles between towns.镇与镇之间相隔五英里。

11 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？

12 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

13 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。