多国发现奥密克戎毒株感染病例

LearnAndRecord 2022-07-26

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近日，在南非首次发现的新型变异新冠病毒“奥密克戎”（Omicron）正在迅速传播。

从阿尔法、贝塔到德尔塔，再到奥密克戎，层出不穷的变异新冠病毒不断挑战着各国疫情防控。

无注释原文：

Covid News: Omicron Variant Puts Nations on Alert

The New York Times

Scientists raced to study a new coronavirus variant as several cases were spotted in Europe and governments around the world announced travel restrictions targeting the southern African region where it first emerged, prompting criticism that the continent was yet again bearing the brunt of panicked policies from Western countries.

Omicron, the new variant first detected in Botswana, sent Europe into high alert after cases were detected in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Belgium. The Czech Republic, Austria, Israel and the Netherlands were all investigating suspected cases of the variant.

Relatively little is known about Omicron. It has mutations that scientists fear could make it more infectious and less susceptible to vaccines — though neither of these effects has yet to be established. Most confirmed cases of the variant are contained to southern African countries, but there are worries Omicron could have spread more widely before scientists there discovered it.

“There’s been a window of probably about two weeks conservatively that this virus has been spreading,” Andrew Pekosz, an epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said in an interview on Saturday. It is likely the variant is already in New York, he said.

“There certainly is a chance that it has already spread globally, but we just don’t know yet,” Mr. Pekosz added.

European leaders, already struggling with a surge in Covid-19 cases that has made it once again the epicenter of the pandemic, tried to strike a balance between increasing caution and avoiding panic.

Sixty-one passengers out of more than 500 on two flights from southern African countries into the Netherlands on Saturday tested positive for the coronavirus and are quarantining in Amsterdam. The Omicron variant is likely to be found in some of those 61 passengers who tested positive, the Dutch authorities said.

The European Union is restricting travel to and from seven countries in southern Africa — Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe — while the United States and South Korea have targeted those countries and Malawi. Britain has restricted travel with those eight nations and Angola, Mozambique and Zambia.

Canada, Australia, Russia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Morocco have all announced similar restrictions.

Israel announced the most restrictive ban Saturday, saying it would close its borders to foreign nationals for two weeks.

Some health officials said that the travel bans may buy some time to figure out how to deal with the new variant. But just as border closures a year ago did little to stop the spread of an earlier coronavirus variant from Britain, scientists said, the latest travel shutdowns had likely come too late.

And richer countries, having already hoarded vaccines for much of 2021, were now penalizing parts of the world that they had starved of shots in the first place, scientists said.

In a news conference on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that to curb the spread of the variant, face masks would be required in stores and on public transportation, a rule the country had ended in July.

Britain will also require travelers from abroad to get a PCR test within 48 hours of their arrival and require contacts of those who test positive with a suspected case of Omicron to self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of vaccination status.

The variant was also detected in Hong Kong, which prompted “the most stringent boarding and quarantine requirements” for travelers coming from southern African countries.

“I think certainly caution is warranted to restrict travel and to watch this closely, but at the end of the day, we really need a lot more data to evaluate this new variant,” Philip A. Chan, an infectious disease doctor at Brown University who has helped lead the Covid-19 response for Rhode Island, said.

What we do know, he said, is that the Omicron variant seems to be overtaking the Delta variant in southern African countries, which suggest Omicron is more contagious and that it can overcome some of the natural immunity and vaccine immunity.

“Neither one of those things are good, obviously. And I think that those are the two reasons that have experts and scientists so concerned,” Dr. Chan said. But he still “urges caution and patience.”

“Let’s wait to see what the data shows. Let’s take appropriate precautions,” he said.

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

Covid News: Omicron Variant Puts Nations on Alert

The New York Times

科学家们竞相研究一种新的冠状病毒变体，因为在欧洲发现了几个病例。世界各国政府宣布了针对该病毒首次出现的南非地区的旅行限制，引发了批评，认为非洲再次承受了西方国家恐慌政策的冲击。

variant

表示“变体；变种”，英文解释为“A variant of a particular thing is something that has a different form from that thing, although it is related to it.”举个🌰：

The quagga was a strikingly beautiful variant of the zebra.

白氏斑马是一种极其美丽的斑马变种。

spot

表示“发现”，英文解释为“If you spot something or someone, you notice them.”举个🌰：

LR failed to spot the error.

LR没能发现这个错误。

prompt

表示“促使；导致；激起”，英文解释为“to make sb decide to do sth; to cause sth to happen”举个🌰：

His speech prompted an angry outburst from a man in the crowd.

他的讲话激起了人群中一男子的愤怒。

📺美剧《斯巴达克斯：血与沙》（Spartacus: Blood and Sand）中的台词提到：One cannot but wonder what would prompt such an act 不知他们为何遭此不幸。

bear the brunt of

表示“承受某事的主要压力；首当其冲”，英文解释为“to receive the main force of sth unpleasant”举个🌰：

Schools will bear the brunt of cuts in government spending.

政府削减开支，学校将首当其冲受到影响。

在英国、德国、意大利和比利时发现病例后，首次在博茨瓦纳（Botswana）发现的新冠病毒新变种奥密克戎（Omicron）使欧洲进入高度警戒状态。捷克共和国、奥地利、以色列和荷兰都在调查该变种的疑似病例。

detect

表示“发现；查明；侦察出”，英文解释为“to discover or notice sth, especially sth that is not easy to see, hear, etc.”举个🌰：

The tests are designed to detect the disease early.

这些检查旨在早期查出疾病。

对奥密克戎的了解相对较少。科学家们担心它的突变可能会使其更具传染性和疫苗抗性--尽管这两种影响都还未证实。该变种的大多数确诊病例被控制在南部非洲国家，但人们担心南非科学家发现它之前，奥密克戎可能就已经传播得更广。

mutation

表示“（生物物种的）变异，突变”，英文解释为“a process in which the genetic material of a person, a plant or an animal changes in structure when it is passed on to children, etc., causing different physical characteristics to develop; a change of this kind”如：cells affected by mutation 受到突变影响的细胞。

infectious

表示“（疾病）传染性的”，英文解释为“(of a disease) able to be passed from one person, animal, or plant to another”如：an infectious disease 传染病。

susceptible

susceptible /səˈseptəbl/ 表示“易受影响（或伤害等）；敏感；过敏”，英文解释为“very likely to be influenced, harmed or affected by sb/sth”举个🌰：

Some of these plants are more susceptible to frost damage than others.

这些植物中有一些较其他的易受霜冻危害。

contain

1）表示“防止…蔓延（或恶化）”，英文解释为“to prevent sth harmful from spreading or getting worse”如：to contain an epidemic 防止流行病的蔓延。

2）表示“控制，克制，抑制（感情）”，英文解释为“to keep your feelings under control”举个🌰：

She was unable to contain her excitement.

她无法抑制内心的激动。

🎬电影《哥斯拉》（Godzilla）中的台词提到：That's why our mission was to contain it. 所以我们的主要任务是控制它。

📍类似的一个词，restrain表示“阻止，制止；遏制”（to control the actions or behaviour of someone by force, especially in order to stop them from doing something, or to limit the growth or force of something）举个🌰：

She was so angry that she could hardly restrain herself.

她气得几乎都控制不住自己。

📍类似的短语：keep/ get sth under control，举个🌰：

You should learn to keep your temper under control.

你应该学会控制自己的脾气。

“There’s been a window of probably about two weeks conservatively that this virus has been spreading,” Andrew Pekosz, an epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said in an interview on Saturday. It is likely the variant is already in New York, he said.

约翰霍普金斯大学布隆博格公共卫生学院的流行病学家安德鲁·佩科斯（Andrew Pekosz）周六在接受采访时说：“保守地说，这种病毒的传播时间可能有两个星期左右。”他表示，该变体很可能已经在纽约（传播开了）。

a window of

表示“一丝机会；短暂的时机”，英文解释为“a time when there is an opportunity to do sth, although it may not last long”举个🌰：

We now have a small window of opportunity in which to make our views known.

我们现在有一线机会使人了解我们的观点。

epidemiologist

epidemiologist /ˌepɪˌdiːmiˈɑːlədʒɪst/ 表示“流行病学家”，英文解释为“Epidemiologists are scientists who study diseases within populations of people. In essence, these public health professionals analyze what causes disease outbreaks in order to treat existing diseases and prevent future outbreaks.”

“There certainly is a chance that it has already spread globally, but we just don’t know yet,” Mr. Pekosz added.

“当然有可能它已经在全球范围内传播，只是我们还不知道，”佩科斯先生还提到。

European leaders, already struggling with a surge in Covid-19 cases that has made it once again the epicenter of the pandemic, tried to strike a balance between increasing caution and avoiding panic.

新冠病毒确诊病例的激增已经使欧洲再次成为这场全球性流行病的中心，欧洲领导人正努力应对这一情形，试图在提高警惕和避免恐慌之间取得平衡。

surge

1）作动词，表示“急剧上升；飞涨；剧增”，英文解释为“If something surges, it increases suddenly and greatly, after being steady or developing only slowly.”举个🌰：

The company's profits have surged.

公司的利润激增。

2）作名词，表示“剧增”，英文解释为“A surge is a sudden large increase in something that has previously been steady, or has only increased or developed slowly.”举个🌰：

An unexpected surge in electrical power caused the computer to crash.

突然出现的电压剧增导致电脑死机。

🎬电影《雷神2：黑暗世界》（Thor: The Dark World）中的台词提到：But she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her. 但她体内涌动的能量太大她撑不住的。

strike a balance

表示“（在争论中）找到折中办法，求得平衡”，英文解释为“If you strike a balance between two things, you accept parts of both things in order to satisfy some of the demands of both sides in an argument, rather than all the demands of just one side.”举个🌰：

It's a question of striking the right balance between quality and productivity.

问题在于要在产品质量和生产率之间求得适当的平衡。

本周六，从非洲南部国家飞往荷兰的两架航班上的500多名乘客中，有61名乘客的新冠病毒检测呈阳性，正在阿姆斯特丹（Amsterdam）隔离。荷兰当局说，在这61名检测结果呈阳性的乘客中，很可能在其中一些人身上发现了奥密克戎变种。

positive

表示“阳性的；证明…存在的”，英文解释为“showing clear evidence that a particular substance or medical condition is present”举个🌰：

The athlete tested positive for steroids.

这个运动员类固醇检测呈阳性。

quarantine

剑桥词典2020年度词汇：quarantine /ˈkwɒrənˌtiːn/.

1）作名词，表示“隔离，检疫”，英文解释为“If a person or animal is in quarantine, they are being kept separate from other people or animals for a set period of time, usually because they have or may have a disease that could spread.”举个🌰：

She was sent home and put in quarantine.

她被送回家实施隔离。

2）作动词，表示“对…进行隔离”，英文解释为“If people or animals are quarantined, they are stopped from having contact with other people or animals. If a place is quarantined, people and animals are prevented from entering or leaving it.”举个🌰：

Dogs have to be quarantined for six months before they'll let them in.

狗必须被隔离6个月后他们才会放它们进来。

欧盟正在限制博茨瓦纳、斯瓦蒂尼、莱索托、莫桑比克、纳米比亚、南非和津巴布韦的进出境旅行，而美国和韩国则限制了上述7个国家和马拉维的进出境旅行。英国在此基础上还增加了对安哥拉、莫桑比克和赞比亚的进出境旅行限制。

Canada, Australia, Russia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Morocco have all announced similar restrictions.

加拿大、澳大利亚、俄罗斯、泰国、斯里兰卡、新加坡、沙特阿拉伯、阿曼和摩洛哥都宣布了类似的限制。

Israel announced the most restrictive ban Saturday, saying it would close its borders to foreign nationals for two weeks.

以色列周六宣布了限制性最强的禁令，声称将对外国公民关闭边界两周。

一些卫生官员说，旅行禁令可能会争取到一些时间，以弄清如何应对新变种。但是，科学家们表示，正如一年前关闭边境对阻止早期来自英国的冠状病毒变体的传播没有什么作用一样，最新旅行禁令很可能为时已晚。

shutdown

表示“歇业；停业；停工；关闭；倒闭；停止运转”，英文解释为“A shutdown is the closing of a factory, shop, or other business, either for a short time or forever.”举个🌰：

The shutdown is the latest in a series of painful budget measures.

歇业是一连串痛苦的预算措施中刚刚实施的一项。

And richer countries, having already hoarded vaccines for much of 2021, were now penalizing parts of the world that they had starved of shots in the first place, scientists said.

科学家们还表示，较富裕的国家在2021年的大部分时间里已经囤积了疫苗，致使世界上那些一开始就缺少疫苗的地区处于不利地位。

hoard

hoard /hɔːd/ 表示“贮藏”，英文解释为“If you hoard things such as food or money, you save or store them, often in secret, because they are valuable or important to you”举个🌰：

They've begun to hoard food and petrol and save their money.

他们已开始贮藏食物和汽油并攒钱。

penalize

表示“置于不利地位；不公正地对待”，英文解释为“to put sb at a disadvantage by treating them unfairly ”举个🌰：

The new law appears to penalize the poorest members of society.

新法规似乎不利于社会中的最贫困者。

starve of

表示“使极其缺乏”，英文解释为“If a person or thing is starved of something that they need, they are suffering because they are not getting enough of it.”

The electricity industry is not the only one to have been starved of investment.

电力行业并不是唯一极其缺乏投资的行业。

在周六晚间的新闻发布会上，首相鲍里斯·约翰逊（Boris Johnson）称，为了遏制奥密克戎变种的传播，将要求人们在商店和公共交通工具上佩戴口罩，之前英国已于7月结束这一规定。

curb

表示“控制，抑制，限定，约束（不好的事物）”，英文解释为“to control or limit sth, especially sth bad”举个🌰：

A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation.

为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

英国还将要求来自国外的旅行者在抵达后48小时内接受PCR检测，并且无论其疫苗接种情况如何，都要求那些检测结果呈阳性的奥密克戎疑似病例的接触者自我隔离10天。

The variant was also detected in Hong Kong, which prompted “the most stringent boarding and quarantine requirements” for travelers coming from southern African countries.

在中国香港也发现了奥密克戎变体，促使香港对来自非洲南部国家的旅行者提出了“最严格的登机和隔离要求”。

stringent

stringent /ˈstrɪndʒənt/ 表示“严格的；严厉的”，英文解释为“very strict and that must be obeyed”，如：stringent air quality regulations 严格的空气质量管理条例。

“I think certainly caution is warranted to restrict travel and to watch this closely, but at the end of the day, we really need a lot more data to evaluate this new variant,” Philip A. Chan, an infectious disease doctor at Brown University who has helped lead the Covid-19 response for Rhode Island, said.

布朗大学的传染病陈医生（Philip A. Chan）说：“我认为，限制旅行并密切关注此事当然需要谨慎，但最终我们真的需要更多的数据来评估这个新变种。”他曾帮助罗德岛州负责应对新冠肺炎疫情。

warrant

1）作名词，表示“令状，搜查令；拘捕令”，英文解释为“A warrant is a legal document that allows someone to do something, especially one that is signed by a judge or magistrate and gives the police permission to arrest someone or search their house.”

2）作动词时，表示“使...有必要，使…显得适当”，英文解释为“If something warrants a particular action, it makes the action seem necessary or appropriate for the circumstances.”举个🌰：

Obviously what she did was wrong, but I don't think it warranted such a severe punishment.

显然她做得不对，但我认为她不应该受到如此严厉的惩罚。

3）还有一个用法是表示“担保，保证；许诺”（used to say that you are certain about something），举个🌰：

I'll warrant (you).

我（向你）保证。

🎬电影《美丽心灵》（A Beautiful Mind）中的台词提到：Your record doesn't warrant any placement at all. 你的履历压根不足以保证你能胜任任何职位。

他表示，我们所知道的是，奥密克戎变体在非洲南部国家似乎正在超越德尔塔（Delta）变体，这表明奥密克戎更具传染性，它可以克服一些天然免疫和疫苗免疫。

overtake

表示“（在数量或重要性方面）大于，超过”，英文解释为“”举个🌰：

to become greater in number, amount or importance than sth else

We mustn't let ourselves be overtaken by our competitors.

我们决不能让竞争对手超过我们。

contagious

contagious /kən'teɪdʒəs/ 1) 表示“（疾病）接触传染的”，英文解释为“A disease that is contagious can be caught by touching people or things that are infected with it.”

2) 表示“（感情、态度、行动）富于感染力的，会蔓延的”，英文解释为“If a feeling, attitude, or action is contagious, other people are quickly affected by it and begin to have it or do it”，如：her contagious enthusiasm 她那富有感染力的热情。

陈医生说，“显然，这两件事都不是好事。我认为这就是让专家和科学家如此担忧的两个原因。”但他仍然“主张谨慎（行事）和（有）耐心。”

urge

表示“大力推荐；竭力主张”，英文解释为“to recommend sth strongly”举个🌰：

The situation is dangerous, and the UN is urging caution.

局势岌岌可危，联合国力主谨慎行事。

“Let’s wait to see what the data shows. Let’s take appropriate precautions,” he said.

“让我们拭目以待，看数据显示什么。让我们采取适当的预防措施，”他说。

precautions

表示“预防措施；预防；防备”，英文解释为“something that is done in advance in order to prevent problems or to avoid danger”，如：safety precautions 安全防范措施。

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