2020年经济学人 Covid-19:世界已做好准备(4)（在线收听）

Dr Hick says the biggest challenge if the disease starts to circulate widely in Minneapolis will be staffing. With no vaccine to protect them, many doctors and nurses will be infected. Others will need to stay at home to look after their children because schools may be closed. In its disaster planning, the hospital where Dr Hick works considered offering child care on-site for its staff. But he admits that people may be reluctant to bring their offspring to a hospital during an epidemic.

希克博士说，如果这种疾病开始在明尼阿波利斯广泛传播，最大的挑战将是人员配备。由于没有疫苗保护，许多医生和护士将会受到感染。其他人将需要呆在家里照顾他们的孩子，因为学校可能会关闭。在灾难计划中，希克博士工作的医院考虑为其员工提供现场儿童护理。但他承认，传染病肆虐时，人们可能不愿意带他们的后代去医院。

Hospitals will encourage people who do not seem to be seriously ill to stay away, as they do during the peak of seasonal flu. In part, that is to prevent them from straining the capacity of hospitals that are already overwhelmed. Doctors have no treatment to offer those with mild symptoms but in a hospital they can infect other patients or medics. Such people will be advised to isolate themselves at home. Others with mild symptoms may in fact have a different bug—but if they flock to hospitals, they may contract covid-19 for real.

医院将鼓励那些看起来没有严重疾病的人远离医院，就像他们在季节性流感高峰期所做的那样。在某种程度上，这是为了防止他们使已经不堪重负的医院更加不堪重负。没有针对轻症人的治疗方案，但是在医院里他们可以传染给其他病人或医务人员。其他有轻微症状的人可能会有不同的症状，但如果他们成群结队地去医院，他们可能会感染上致命的病毒。

Hospitals in both rich and poor countries are worried that in the event of an epidemic they will quickly run out of masks, gowns and gloves. Guidelines by the ECDC say that 24 disposable sets per day may be needed for a covid-19 patient in an intensive-care unit. The WHO says that a global shortage is already occurring, with a 20-fold rise in prices for some types of equipment. Surging demand in Asia, stockpiling by hospitals and disrupted production in China have all contributed to shortages of surgical masks.

富国和穷国的医院都担心一旦疫情爆发，口罩、隔离衣和手套将很快用完。根据ecdc的指导方针，在重症监护病房的cod -19患者每天可能需要24套一次性用品。世界卫生组织表示，全球性短缺已经出现，一些设备的价格上涨了20倍。亚洲需求飙升、医院囤积以及中国生产中断都医用口罩短缺的原因。

Some hospitals are trying to conserve supplies. Dr van Mansfeld says that nurses in her hospital in Amsterdam are being reminded not to use the high-protection respirator masks if they are caring for patients for whom the guidelines say ordinary surgical masks suffice. At some point, says Dr Hick, medics may have to start reusing respirator masks judiciously. Instead of throwing them away after each patient, they could remove them, handling them particularly carefully so that any germs on the outer surfaces are not transferred to their mouths or noses, and re-use them.

一些医院正设法节约供应。范·曼斯菲尔德医生说，她所在的阿姆斯特丹医院的护士们被提醒，如果他们要照顾的病人需要普通的外科口罩就足够了，那么就不要使用高防护口罩。希克博士说，在某种程度上，医护人员可能不得不开始谨慎重复使用口罩。他们不是在接触每个病人之后都扔掉口罩，而是拿出来，特别小心地拿着，这样任何细菌都不会从外表面转移到嘴巴或鼻子上，然后再重复使用。