Coronavirus: Nations heading in wrong direction with Covid-19, says WHO

13 July 2020?

BBC NEWS

The coronavirus pandemic will get "worse and worse" if governments fail to take more?decisive action, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

decisive action:果斷行動(dòng)，決定性行動(dòng) ?decisive是決定性的，果斷的

Director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "too many countries [were] headed in the wrong direction".

Cases were rising where proven measures were not adopted or followed, he added.

The Americas are the current epicentre?of the pandemic. The US has seen a rise in cases amid tensions between health experts and President Donald Trump.

epicentre ：震中?以前的文中提過 the epicentre of epicentre

The US, the worst affected country, has over 3.3 million confirmed cases?and more than 135,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

What has the WHO said?

At a briefing in Genevaon Monday, Dr Tedros said "mixed messages from leaders" were undermining public trust?in attempts to bring the pandemic under control.

Geneva ：日內(nèi)瓦

undermine /??nd??ma?n/

1.V-T If you undermine something such as a feeling or a system, you make it less strong or less secure than it was before, often by a gradual process or by repeated efforts. 逐漸削弱; 逐漸動(dòng)搖? ?Offering advice on each and every problem will undermine her feeling of being adult. ?每個(gè)問題都為她提出忠告會逐漸削弱她的成年意識。

2.V-T If you undermine someone or undermine their position or authority, you make their authority or position less secure, often by indirect methods. (通常以間接方式) 動(dòng)搖 (某人的地位或權(quán)威)? ?She undermined him and destroyed his confidence in his own talent. 她動(dòng)搖了他的地位，摧毀了他對自己才能的信心。

3.V-T If you undermine someone's efforts or undermine their chances of achieving something, you behave in a way that makes them less likely to succeed. 破壞; 損害 (某人的努力或成功的機(jī)會)?? ?The continued fighting threatens to undermine efforts to negotiate an agreement. ?持續(xù)的戰(zhàn)斗有可能破壞通過談判達(dá)成協(xié)議的努力。

undermining public trust：動(dòng)搖/侵蝕民眾的信任

"The virus remains public enemy number one, but the actions of many governments and people do not reflect this," he said.

Dr Tedros said measures such as social distancing, hand washing, and wearing masks in appropriate situations needed to be taken seriously, warning that there would be "no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future".

"If the basics aren't followed, there is only one way this pandemic is going to go," Dr Tedros said, adding: "It's going to get worse and worse and worse."

Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO's emergencies director, said the easing of some lockdown measures in the Americas and the opening up of some areas had led to "intense transmission".

Latin America has confirmed more than 145,000 coronavirus-related deaths, though the number is believed to be higher because of insufficient testing.

Half of the deaths were in Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro has opposed strict measures to?curb?the spread of the virus.

Curb：to control or limit sth, especially sth bad 控制，抑制，限定，約束（不好的事物）

Dr Ryan said closing down large regions would have huge economic consequences, but that local lockdowns in specific places might be necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus.

mitigate v. /?m?t?ɡe?t/?to make sth less harmful, serious, etc. 減輕；緩和

He urged governments to implement clear and "strong" strategies, adding: "Citizens have to understand, and it has to be easy for them to comply."

What about a vaccine, or immunity?

"We need to learn to live with this virus," Dr Ryan said, warning that expectations that the virus could be eradicated, or that an effective vaccine could be ready, within months were "unrealistic".

eradicate /??r?d??ke?t/?根除，以前文章遇見過

He said it was not yet known whether recovering from the coronavirus would lead to immunity, or, if it did, how long that immunity would last.

A separate study released on Monday by?scientists at King's College London suggested that immunity to the virus may be short-lived.

Scientists at the college studied 96 people to understand how the body naturally fights off the virus by making antibodies, and how long these last in the weeks and months after recovery.

However, while almost all of those who participated had detectable antibodies that could neutralise?and stop coronavirus, levels began to?wane?over the three months of the study.

neutralize v. /?nju?tr?la?z/ 同英式英語neutralise

1.to stop sth from having any effect 使無效

2.( chemistry 化 ) to make a substance neutral 中和；使成為中性

3.to make a country or an area neutral 使中立

wane /we?n/ ?

1.to become gradually weaker or less important 衰落；衰敗；敗落；減弱

?Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她對整個(gè)想法的熱情迅速冷淡了下來。

2.?( of the moon 月亮 ) to appear slightly smaller each day after being round and full 缺；虧

3.??on the wane：becoming smaller, less important or less common 變??；衰落；減弱；敗落

At the WHO briefing, health experts also said there was evidence to suggest that children under the age of 10 were only very mildly affected by Covid-19, while those over 10 seemed to suffer similar mild symptoms to young adults.

To what extent children can transmit the virus, while it appears to be low, remains unknown.

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