印度成为继美国后第二个新冠病例数破千万的国家,这突显出严厉的控制措施并未能阻止这种病毒在印度的 14 亿人口中肆虐。
全文共 523 个词, By Benjamin Parkin in Mumbai
India has recorded 10m Covid-19 cases, the second country after the US to reach the grim landmark, underscoring how strict containment measures have failed to stop the virus rampaging across its population of 1.4bn.
印度已录得 1000 万例新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19,即 2019 冠状病毒病)病例,成为继美国后第二个新冠病例数破千万的国家,这突显出严厉的控制措施未能阻止新冠病毒在其 14 亿人口中肆虐。
The world’s second most populous nation achieved the unwanted record on Saturday after notching 25,000 cases daily over the past week, down from a peak of almost 100,000 new infections per day in September.
这个全球人口第二大国上周六创下了这一不受欢迎的纪录,过去一周,该国每日新增病例数为 2.5万,低于 9 月每日新增近 10 万例的峰值。
India largely avoided the worst of the early waves of the virus that spread through Asia and Europe in March,before emerging as a global coronavirus hotspot.
在成为全球新冠疫情重灾区之前,印度基本上避开了 3 月新冠病毒在亚洲和欧洲的最初几波最严重的疫情。
The pandemic has exacted a heavy human and economic toll on the South Asian country, which was until last year the world’s fastest-growing large economy.
这场大流行已给这个南亚国家造成了巨大的人口和经济损失,该国去年还是全球增长最快的大型经济体。
A chaotic national lockdown implemented at short notice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March ultimately did little to contain the virus after it took hold in crowded city slums, where families and groups of labourers live together in single rooms and lack access to clean toilets and water sources.
3 月印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪(Narendra Modi)仓促实施的一项混乱的全国性封锁措施,最终对遏制疫情收效甚微。此前,新冠病毒已在拥挤的城市贫民窟中传播开,在贫民窟里,一间屋子往往住着一家人或多名工人,没有干净的厕所和水源。
The spread accelerated after urban migrants left destitute by the lockdown carried the virus back to their rural homes, prompting new waves of infections in some of the country’s poorest districts.
因封锁而陷入赤贫的进城务工人员返乡,将病毒带回他们的农村老家后,病毒加速传播,导致该国一些最贫困的地区出现了新的几波感染。
India has recorded more than 145,000 deaths from Covid-19, the third-highest tally after the US and Brazil.
印度录得的新冠死亡病例已超过 14.5 万,是全球新冠死亡人数第三高的国家,仅次于美国和巴西。
Public-health experts have been encouraged by the comparatively low death rate as a proportion of infections— possibly due to India’s relatively young population. However, they also fear that the true toll has been undercounted — perhaps because those infected died at home or because local authorities lacked the capacity to process the deaths.
公共卫生专家对相对较低的新冠死亡率感到鼓舞——这可能是由于印度人口相对年轻。然而,他们也担心真实的死亡人数尚未被完全统计——这或许是因为感染者死于家中,或是地方当局处理死亡人数数据的能力不足。
Surveys conducted around the country that measure seropositivity rates have indicated that the virus’s spread has been far wider than the official numbers suggest.
在印度各地进行的血清阳性率调查表明,新冠病毒的传播之广远超官方数据显示的程度。
Studies conducted in cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, as well as rural areas, have found that anywhere from a quarter to half of the subjects had antibodies indicating past exposure to Covid-19.
在新德里、孟买和班加罗尔等城市以及农村地区进行的研究已发现,四分之一到一半的研究对象已有抗体,表明他们对新冠病毒有既往暴露。
India’s gross domestic product shrunk a historic 24 per cent year on year in the three months to June, followed by a 7.5 per cent contraction in the September quarter.
今年第二季度,印度国内生产总值(GDP)创纪录地同比萎缩了 24%,第三季度则萎缩了 7.5%。
The IMF expects India’s economy to shrink 10 per cent this year, though recent improvements in ground-level economic data have prompted some analysts to revise their estimates higher.
国际货币基金组织(IMF)预计印度经济今年将萎缩 10%,不过近期基层经济数据的改善已促使一些分析师上调了他们的预期。
Authorities are hopeful that mass vaccination will help to contain the virus and get the economy back on track,aided by the fact that India is already the world’s largest producer of vaccines.
当局希望大规模的新冠疫苗接种将有助于遏制疫情,使经济重回正轨,有助于实现这一希望的事实是,印度已是全球最大的疫苗生产国。
Several manufacturers have submitted their vaccine candidates to the country’s regulator for emergency use authorisation, including Pfizer and the Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing the Oxford university AstraZeneca vaccine.
已有多家制造商向该国监管机构提交了他们的候选新冠疫苗以申请紧急使用授权,其中包括辉瑞(Pfizer)和正在生产牛津大学-阿斯利康(Oxford university-AstraZeneca)新冠疫苗的印度血清研究所(Serum Institute of India)。
A homegrown candidate developed by Bharat Biotech has also applied. Indian officials told the BBC that they hoped to begin vaccinations in January.
由印度巴拉特生物(Bharat Biotech)研发的一款本土候选新冠疫苗也提交了申请。印度官员对英国广播公司(BBC)表示,他们希望于明年 1 月启动新冠疫苗接种。
Capital Economics, an advisory company, said last week that widespread vaccination could boost India’s economic outlook.
咨询公司凯投宏观(Capital Economics)上周表示,新冠疫苗接种的普及或许会提振印度的经济前景。
Mr Modi on Saturday highlighted India’s capacity to manufacture vaccines for domestic and international use,touting its potential to turbocharge any economic recovery.
莫迪上周六强调了印度供国内及国际使用的疫苗产能,竭力宣传该国推动经济复苏的潜能。
“The world has confidence in the Indian economy,” he said.
他表示:“世界对印度经济有信心。”