VOA慢速英语2019--加大力度遏制新型冠状病毒

Efforts Intensify¹ to Contain New Coronavirus

By Mario Ritter Jr.

01 February 2020

The outbreak of the new coronavirus that started in the Chinese city of Wuhan has mobilized medical efforts around the world.

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" on Thursday.

By Friday, the disease had killed more than 200 people in China and infected thousands.

The fast-spreading virus, which first appeared in central China in December, has been confirmed in more than 20 countries and territories. The list includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. But countries outside of Asia – including the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Britain and France – have reported confirmed cases.

Most of those who have been infected in other countries had recently visited Wuhan.

China has barred travel from Wuhan and other cities in central Hubei province. The ban places a partial quarantine on more than 50 million people – something that has never happened before.

Travel advisories³

Some nations have completely closed their borders to avoid infections, such as Mongolia and North Korea. Russia has closed its land border with China, which extends more than 4,000 kilometers.

The U.S. State Department on Thursday released a "Do Not Travel" advisory⁴ for China and has advised Americans in the country to leave.

Chinese foreign ministry⁵ spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the warning was not appropriate for the situation.

However, foreign visitors are rushing to leave China, with countries including Japan and the U.S. sending special flights to help citizens return.

Late Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an order aimed at protecting returning travelers and the public. It said that all 195 U.S. citizens who returned to the United States on a special flight from Wuhan would be quarantined for 14 days.

In addition, the Administration of President Donald Trump⁶ declared a public health emergency in the U.S. Starting on Sunday, U.S. Citizens who have been to Hubei province will face a 14-day required quarantine. Other actions include a temporary suspension of entry for foreign nationals who have traveled in China in the last 14 days. The suspension does not affect close family of U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Also on Friday, Reuters news agency reported that Wuhan's Communist Party chief, Ma Guoqiang, said the effects of the virus on China and the world "would have been less" had containment⁷ efforts started sooner.

On the same day, Wuhan's mayor, Zhou Xianwang, said the job of containing the virus remains⁸ "severe and complex." The city's vice⁹ mayor said supplies of masks and other medical resources were still not enough.

Medical response

Officials in Wuhan are hurrying to complete two emergency hospitals. The plan is for one hospital with 1,000 beds to open by February 3.

State media report that the city plans to finish a second temporary hospital in two weeks. It will offer 1,300 more beds for treating more patients who may have the virus.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it had sent six tons of supplies to Wuhan. UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore² said, "This coronavirus is spreading at a breakneck speed and it is important to put all the necessary resources into halting it."

The declaration of a health emergency permits the WHO to provide assistance to other low- and middle-income countries. It also urges cooperation in disease control measures.

The United States offered to send its health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to China to help in the efforts to contain the disease.

The CDC says the new coronavirus can spread through contact with body fluids or from touching¹⁰ surfaces infected with the virus.

The health agency warns that older adults with existing health conditions are at increased risk of severe disease.

Signs of the virus include a high body temperature, coughing and difficulty breathing. Severe cases can cause pneumonia¹¹, kidney failure and even death. Although the virus has been identified, a vaccine¹² is not likely to be available soon.

Masks in high demand

Demand for protective masks is up all over Asia because of concerns about the spread of the new virus in China. Now, wearing facial masks is becoming the "new normal" in the area.

Face masks and hand-sanitizing liquids are among the most popular products. Factories are rushing to increase production as the number of infections continues to climb.

In some parts of Asia, wearing protective masks has become required. One drugstore in Bangkok, Thailand, reports a huge sales increase. Shortages also have been reported in South Korea.

Words in This Story

quarantine –n. a situation in which a person or people are kept away from others to prevent the spread of disease

appropriate –adj. right, correct for the situation

(surgical) mask –n. a mask used by doctors during operations to prevent infecting patients

sanitizing –adj. to make something free from dirt or agents of disease

disinfectant –n. a chemical used to kill harmful germs and bacteria

hygiene¹³ –n. things that people do to keep themselves clean and in good health

breakneck - adj. very fast

income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.

pneumonia - n. a serious disease that affects the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe

1 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

2 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

3 advisories   

n.（有关进展、动向、建议等的）报告( advisory的名词复数 )；公告；通告；通报

参考例句：

• Compliance with Practice Advisories is optional. 是否遵守实务公告由审计师自行选择决定。 来自互联网
• Hardened-PHP: not as such a PHP security information website, but it does have security advisories. 增强PHP:不仅仅是一个PHP安全新的网站，它还提供安全建议。 来自互联网

4 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

11 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

12 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。

13 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。