印度宣布“全国封闭”21天遏制新冠疫情蔓延

25-Mar-2020

2020年3月25日

India declares 21-day 'total lockdown' as coronavirus cases rise

印度宣布“全国封闭”21天抗击新冠疫情蔓延

Just as China, where the first epicenter of the coronavirus, began to loosen some controls, neighboring India ordered its 1.3 billion people – the world's second biggest population – to stay at home for 21 days.

就在新冠病毒率先爆发的中国开始放松管制之际，世界第二大人口的邻国印度下令其13亿人在家隔离21天。

This order is the largest lockdown to be issued so far, meaning that 2.6 billion people are now under some form of movement restriction around the globe, about a third of the world's population.

这一命令是迄今为止发布的最大规模的封闭，意味着全球目前有26亿人受到某种形式的流动限制，约占世界人口的三分之一。

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the nation that the lockdown was "very necessary to break the chain of coronavirus."

印度总理莫迪通告全国，封闭“对打破新型冠状病毒链非常必要”。

"To save India, to save its every citizen, you, your family [...] every street, every neighbourhood is being put under lockdown," Modi said in a televised address.

莫迪在一次电视讲话中说：“为了拯救印度，为了拯救它的每一个公民，你，你的家人，每一条街道，每一个街区都被封闭。”

He appealed for people not to panic, assuring that essential supplies will be provided by the central government. But crowds quickly mobbed stores in the capital, Delhi, and other cities.

他呼吁民众不要惊慌，中央政府将确保提供必要的物资。但在首都德里和其他城市，人群迅速包围了商店。

India has already severed international flight links and will stop domestic air services at midnight in a bid to stem the spread.

印度已经切断了国际航班联系，并将在午夜停止国内航空服务，以遏制新冠疫情扩散。

India has confirmed relatively few cases of COVID-19 so far, but there has been a sharp increase to 519 infections, including 10 deaths. Health officials said that the coronavirus was spreading out of big cities, where it first appeared, into smaller towns. Researchers predicted that more than a million people in India could be infected with the coronavirus by mid-May.

到目前为止，印度已确诊的新型冠状病毒COVID-19病例相对较少，但感染人数急剧增加至519例，其中包括10例死亡。卫生官员说，冠状病毒正从最初出现的大城市扩散到较小的城镇。研究人员预测，到5月中旬，印度可能有100多万人感染冠状病毒。

One possible reason for the comparatively low number of the COVID-19 cases for now is its low nucleic acid test capacity – 60,000 to 70,000 per week. In comparison, the UK says it is increasing its test capacity to 25,000 a day.

目前新冠病毒COVID-19病例数量相对较低的原因可能是印度的核酸检测能力较低——每周60000到70000例。相比之下，英国表示，它正在将测试能力提高到每天25000个。

"The only way you can control a disease like this is that you test early and you quarantine them," said Bellur Prabhakar, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Illinois.

伊利诺伊大学微生物学和免疫学教授贝勒·普拉巴卡尔说：“控制这种疾病的唯一方法就是及早检测并隔离它们。

But Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, said there is no need for "indiscriminate testing."

但印度医学研究委员会总干事巴尔拉姆·巴拉格瓦表示，没有必要“不加选择地进行检测”。

Another possible reason is that the virus usually thrives in lower temperatures, meaning that it might not spread so efficiently in India, where the weather is often higher than 30 degrees, although there isn't enough evidence to support the theory that the coronavirus follows the same pattern of other similar viruses. The experts caution against drawing an early conclusion, and urge the people to stay alert in case the situation deteriorates in the coming weeks.

另一个原因可能是这类病毒通常在较低的温度下繁殖，印度天气通常高于30度，意味着病毒传播可能会受到抑制，尽管没有足够的证据支持新冠病毒遵循其他类似病毒的相同模式的理论。专家们告诫不要过早下结论，并敦促人们保持警惕，以防未来几周局势恶化。

If the spread of coronavirus isn't impacted by temperatures, that could be a problem for India.

如果新冠病毒的传播不受温度的影响，这对印度来说可能就是个问题。

A growing number of governments are encouraging citizens to self-isolate at home and wash their hands to control the spread of coronavirus. But in parts of India, people who live in low quality, semi-permanent structures can hardly follow these basic measures.

越来越多的政府鼓励公民在家自我隔离，洗手以控制冠状病毒的传播。但在印度部分地区，生活在低质量、半永久性建筑中的人们很难遵循这些基本措施。

According to the report from the Indian government, many residents don't have bathrooms or running water at home. And some residents get their water from a communal tap, while others collect theirs in canisters and buckets from tankers that visit a few times a week.

根据印度政府的报告，许多居民家里没有浴室或自来水。一些居民从公共水龙头取水，而另一些居民则从每周来几次的油轮上用罐子和水桶取水。

This poses challenges for Indians to effectively implement the quarantine plans including social distancing.

这对印度人有效实施隔离计划（包括社会距离）提出了挑战。

Modi has also expressed his concern for the millions of workers who rely on a daily wage. He requested "the business world and high-income segments of society to as much as possible, look after the economic interests of all the people who provide them services."

莫迪也表达了他对数以百万计依赖每日工资的工人的关注。他要求“商界和社会高收入阶层尽可能照顾所有为他们提供服务的人的经济利益”。

"In the coming few days it is possible these people may not be able to come to offices or your homes. In such a case, do treat them with empathy and humanity and not deduct their salaries. Always keep in mind that they too need to run their homes, protect their families from illness."

“在接下来的几天里，这些人可能无法来办公室或你家。在这种情况下，一定要以同情和人道的态度对待他们，不要扣减他们的工资。永远记住，他们也需要经营自己的家园，保护家人不受疾病的伤害。”

Chief minister of northern Uttar Pradesh state Yogi Adityanath said that each of the 1.5 million daily wage laborers in his state will be given 1,000 rupees (13 U.S. dollars) via direct transfer to help them meet their daily needs. But not all residents have access to the registration of the aid plan.

北方邦首席部长奥吉·阿迪蒂亚纳思说，该邦150万日薪劳动者每人将通过直接转账获得1000卢比（13美元），帮助他们满足日常需要。但并非所有居民都能获得援助计划的登记。