多国上报新病例，新冠肺炎疫情在欧洲的暴发与恶化……

截止到目前，意大利已报告了323例新冠肺炎确诊病例，在中部和南方的托斯卡纳和西西里岛首次出现新病例，死亡人数增至12人。

而除意大利外，欧洲的瑞士、克罗地亚和奥地利25日分别报告了本国首例新型冠状病毒确诊病例，德国、法国和西班牙确诊病例数量增加，新冠肺炎疫情正在欧洲大陆上扩散。

Three new countries in Europe reported their first coronavirus cases on Tuesday. Italy, the most affected country on the continent,  has reported 323 cases of COVID-19, and 12 deaths have been reported in Europe as of press time.

A man in Croatia who recently returned from Italy became the first confirmed patient in the Balkans. Switzerland, Austria, and Romania also reported their first cases, all in people who had been to Italy.

According to regional newspaper La Vanguardia, a new case of COVID-19 has been reported in Catalonia, Spain – its first case on the mainland. The woman from Barcelona had also visited northern Italy. At the same time, up to 1,000 guests were locked down in a four-star hotel on Tenerife, after an Italian doctor and his wife tested positive for the virus.

Spanish police officers patrol outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, February 25, 2020. /AP

Germany has reported its 17th and 18th cases in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Wurttemberg. The two infections were confirmed after no fresh cases reported for two weeks in Europe's most populous country.

"People in close contact with the patient will be kept in home isolation and be asked about their state of health every day," said the state's health ministry in a statement. "As soon as a contact person develops symptoms, they will also be isolated in hospital."

CGTN连线了欧洲疾病预防和控制中心专家Pasi Pent，他指出在过去两个月间，中国政府采取的防控措施之严格是前所未有的。而对于意大利疫情的发展，专家认为在过去几个月欧洲也许一直有输入型病例的可能，所以对于人与人之间传播的控制非常重要，限制旅游能够延缓疫情传播。

根据欧盟规定，申根区的26个国家之间不设边界检查，允许车辆和人员自由流动。目前，欧盟和相关国家决定维持边境的开放。但同时，德国联邦卫生部长Jens Spahn也表示，将与邻国一起严肃对待疫情，并认识到“（疫情）在向好发展之前可能会恶化”。

Health ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the EU Commission committed to keeping frontiers open at a meeting on Tuesday. German health minister, Jens Spahn, said the neighbors were taking the situation "very, very seriously" but acknowledged "it could get worse before it gets better."

意大利的新冠肺炎确诊病例数字仅在4天内就从3例飙升至300多例，成为全球受疫情影响最严重的国家之一。为遏制疫情蔓延态势，意大利已封锁了金融时尚之都米兰所在的伦巴第，以及旅游之都威尼斯所在的威尼托两个北部大区。

虽然意大利的六个邻国一致承诺不对意封锁边境，然而日渐严重的疫情给意大利经济带来的影响已经显现：飞往意大利的航班受到限制，防护用品的价格飙升，《碟中谍7》暂停在意大利的拍摄，米兰大教堂被关闭，威尼斯狂欢节也被取消……

In Europe, Italy is the front line with 323 confirmed cases, as the outbreak is spreading from its origins in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.

Italy's tourist industry, which accounts for about 13 percent of its economy, fears a plunge amid travel warnings and restrictions on soccer matches, cinemas and theaters. Most of them are in the northern region of Lombardy, which contains the country's economic capital Milan.

Italy's health minister, Roberto Speranza, said neighboring countries had agreed not to close their borders, calling such a step "disproportionate [...] at this time."

But airlines began restricting flights to Italy, prices of protective gear skyrocketed, a planned shoot in the country for Tom Cruise's seventh "Mission: Impossible" movie was postponed, Milan cathedral was closed and the Venice carnival canceled.

随着疫情的传播，口罩、酒精等防疫用品在意大利北部被抢购一空。网络上，人们甚至开始将“消毒用品短缺”当成“玩梗”的素材。

Worried residents in the north have been scrambling to get hold of face masks and disinfectant gels, leading to shortages in many pharmacies and supermarkets. The less scrupulous have been quick to spy an opportunity to profit.

Many shops in Milan have sold out of Amuchina gel and respiratory masks which are now being sold at hiked up prices online. /AFP

On Tuesday morning, a vendor on eBay was asking for no less than 300 euros (325 dollars) for a liter of disinfectant solution.

The phenomenon has prompted a wave of jokes and memes on social media.

"Will exchange five liters of Amuchina (antibacterial gel) in return for an Audi RS 5 car from 2019," said one post, adding, "If it's a 2016 model, throw in 65,000 euros."

Another joke imagines a drug dealer asking a buyer if they want cannabis or cocaine only for the client to respond, "Amuchina gel."

但并不是所有人都能“苦中作乐”，随着疫情传播的还有恐惧和谣言。

近日，针对多家媒体关于斯洛伐克总理佩列格里尼疑似感染新冠肺炎的报道，2月24日晚上，佩列格里尼在自己的社交媒体账号上对此作出回应，“有人在推特上炮制我感染新冠肺炎的恶作剧。真是一派胡言！”

Not all people see the funny side of the impact of COVID-19, as the surge in Italy's death toll has fueled fear and rumors across the continent.

Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini canceled his agenda because of sudden illness, his office said on Sunday, just one week ahead of a parliamentary election in which his party might lose power, according to Reuters.

Pellegrini has denied he had been infected with COVID-19 through his personal Twitter account on Tuesday.

The Twitter account of Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini is not officially recognized by Twitter.

Pellegrini was due to appear in a televised debate later on Sunday with leaders of all the other parties taking part in the European Union member country's February 29 vote.

"Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini was hospitalized yesterday night due to acute upper respiratory tract infection accompanied with high temperature. Due to his condition, he is canceling his entire schedule temporarily," Pellegrini's office said in a statement on Sunday.

So far, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Slovakia.

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