卫生官员警告美国人要做好冠状病毒在美国传播的准备

卫生官员警告美国人要做好冠状病毒在美国传播的准备

Federal health officials issued a blunt message Tuesday: Americans need to start preparing now for the possibility that more aggressive, disruptive measures might be needed to stop the spread of the new coronavirus in the U.S.

联邦卫生官员星期二发布了一个直截了当的信息：美国人现在需要开始准备，因为可能需要采取更积极、更具破坏性的措施来阻止新型冠状病毒在美国的传播。

The strongly worded warning came in response to outbreaks of the virus outside China, including in Iran, Japan, South Korea and Italy, which officials say have raised the likelihood of outbreaks occurring stateside.

这一措辞强硬的警告是对中国以外地区(包括伊朗、日本、韩国和意大利)爆发的病毒的回应，官员们表示，这增加了疫情在美国本土爆发的可能性。

"It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but more really a question of when it will happen — and how many people in this country will have severe illness," Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters during a briefing.

美国疾病控制与预防中心的南希·梅索尼耶博士在一次新闻发布会上对记者说:“问题不在于这种情况是否还会发生，而在于它何时会发生，以及这个国家有多少人会患上严重的疾病。”

While aggressive measures such as travel restrictions and the first federal quarantine in a half century have probably slowed the arrival of the coronavirus in the U.S., Messonnier said even more intrusive steps will likely be needed.

虽然旅行限制和半个世纪以来的首次联邦检疫等积极措施可能延缓了这种冠状病毒进入美国他说，可能需要采取更多的干预措施。

"We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare with the expectation that this could be bad," Messonnier said.

梅索尼耶说:“我们要求美国公众与我们一起做好准备，预计情况可能会很糟糕。”

"I had a conversation with my family over breakfast this morning. And I told my children that while I didn't think that they were at risk right now, we, as a family, need to be preparing for significant disruption of our lives," she said.

“今天早上我和家人在早餐时进行了一次谈话。我告诉我的孩子们，虽然我不认为他们现在处于危险之中，但作为一个家庭，我们需要为我们的生活被严重破坏做好准备。”

Those measures could include school closings, workplace shutdowns and canceling large gatherings and public events, she warned.

她警告说，这些措施可能包括关闭学校、关闭工作场所、取消大型集会和公共活动。

"I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming and that disruption to everyday life may be severe, but these are things that people need to start thinking about now," Messonnier said.

梅索尼耶说:“我知道整个情况可能会让人难以承受，对日常生活的干扰可能会很严重，但这些都是人们现在需要开始考虑的事情。”

So Americans need to do things like start making plans to care for their children should schools and day care centers close, she said. They should talk to their employers about how they could work from home. And they should find out whether there might be a way to get medical care remotely, such as through telemedicine, Messonnier said.

她说，因此，美国人需要开始制定计划，在学校和日托中心关闭的情况下照顾他们的孩子。他们应该和雇主谈谈如何在家工作。梅索尼耶说，他们应该寻找是否可以获得远程医疗的办法，比如通过远程医疗。

She stressed that the current risk remains low. Almost all the cases that have occurred in the United States have been among travelers who have been infected overseas. In addition, there's always the chance that the coronavirus could begin to subside as spring and summer arrive.

她强调，目前的风险仍然很低。几乎所有发生在美国的病例都是在海外感染的旅行者。此外，在春季和夏季到来时，冠状病毒也有可能开始消退。

In a statement late Tuesday, the White House said it had met with health officials from more than 30 states and territories to thank them for their leadership in responding to coronavirus.

在周二晚间的一份声明中，白宫表示，已与来自30多个州和地区的卫生官员会面，感谢他们在应对冠状病毒方面发挥的领导作用。

"The discussion focused on the importance of the public health partnership at various levels of government and underscored the importance [of] community preparedness," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said.

白宫发言人霍根·吉德利说:“讨论的重点是政府各级公共卫生伙伴关系的重要性，并强调社区做好准备的重要性。”