美國首都華盛頓特區“居家令”延長至6月8日

美國首都華盛頓哥倫比亞特區市長鮑澤近日宣佈，華盛頓特區的“居家令”將延長至6月8日，屆時再考慮該地區的重啓計劃。

The District of Columbia, seat of the US federal government, extended its stay-at-home order through June 8, the mayor said on Wednesday.

美國聯邦政府所在地華盛頓哥倫比亞特區市長於上週三（5月13日）表示，“居家令”將延長至6月8日。

The stay-at-home order, intended to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, had been scheduled to end on May 15.

這一旨在遏制新型冠狀病毒傳播的居家禁令原定於5月15日結束。

Mayor Muriel Bowser left open the possibility that the US capital could reopen sooner, telling reporters that if it hit certain metrics including a declining number of cases over 14 days and sustained low transmission rate, she could move to open sooner.

市長穆麗爾·鮑澤表示，美國首都華盛頓特區仍有可能提前重新開放。她告訴記者，如果達到某些標準，包括確診病例數量下降14天和持續較低的傳播率，華盛頓特區或將提前開放。

Washington has reported 6,584 cases of the coronavirus and 350 deaths so far. Though Bowser said the data reflected some encouraging signs, she said, “We are not there yet.”

到目前爲止，華盛頓特區新冠肺炎確診病例達到6584例，死亡病例爲350例。儘管鮑澤表示，數據反映出一些令人鼓舞的跡象，但她說，“我們還沒有達到標準。”

'We're not there yet and not quite ready to begin that phased new opening,' Bowser said at a press briefing.

鮑澤在新聞發佈會上說：“我們還沒有達到標準，還沒有做好開始分階段開放的準備。”

phased [feɪzd]：adj.分階段實行的

'We will continue to follow the advice of our health officials. Rushing to reopen could have tragic results.'

“我們將繼續聽從衛生官員的建議。急於重新開放可能會帶來悲劇性的後果。”

Medical experts recommend states and regions do not reopen until they have recorded a 14-day decline in new coronavirus cases.

醫學專家建議，在新增確診病例連續下降14天之前，各州和各地區不要重新開放。

Other criteria for reopening have been met, however, including the required capacity for testing, Bowser said.

但鮑澤表示，重新開放的其他標準已經滿足，包括病毒檢測的能力。

The announcement came as the White House pushes for states to reopen businesses while public health experts urge caution. Top US infectious Diseases expert Anthony Fauci testified in the Senate on Tuesday his concerns that ending lockdowns could lead to uncontrollable outbreaks.

與此同時，白宮敦促各州重新開放商業活動，而公共衛生專家敦促人們保持謹慎。美國頂級傳染病專家安東尼·福奇上週二（5月12日）在參議院作證時表示，他擔心結束封鎖可能會導致無法控制的疫情暴發。

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a Senate panel the virus epidemic is not yet under control in areas of the nation and urged states to follow advice of witnessing a declining number of new infections before reopening.

美國國家過敏症和傳染病研究所所長福奇對參議院的一個委員會說，美國一些地區的疫情還沒有得到控制，他敦促各州遵循建議，在新增病例下降之前不要重新開放。

'I think we're going in the right direction, but the right direction does not mean we have by any means total control of this outbreak,' Fauci said.

福奇說：“我認爲我們的方向是正確的，但正確的方向並不意味着我們已經完全控制了疫情。”

Both Maryland and Virginia, neighboring states where many workers in the US federal government live, have moved to reopen some businesses in parts of their states, but the suburbs immediately surrounding Washington have remained largely closed.

美國聯邦政府許多工作人員居住在鄰近的馬里蘭州和維吉尼亞州。這兩個州已經在部分地區重新開放商業活動，但是緊鄰華盛頓特區的大部分郊區仍然實施封鎖措施。

Government is considered an essential service, with many workers are currently working from home.

政府工作被認爲是必不可少的服務，許多政府部門員工目前在家辦公。

“We know that government is essential and the work of the government is essential, especially our lawmakers. What I have encouraged the federal government to do is to keep as many people on tele-work as possible,” Bowser said.

鮑澤說：“我們知道政府是至關重要的，政府的工作是至關重要的，特別是我們的議員。我一直鼓勵聯邦政府讓儘可能多的人遠程工作。”

Senators returned to Washington earlier this month after six weeks at home. The congressional physician has advised lawmakers to wear masks, stay six feet (two meters) apart and limit the number of staff on Capitol Hill.

參議員們在居家六週後，於本月初返回華盛頓。國會醫生建議議員們戴上口罩，保持6英尺（約合2米）的距離，並限制國會工作人員的數量。

News that lockdown will continue will no doubt be unwelcome news to the city's most famous resident, President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged the US to reopen for business as soon as possible.

對於該市最著名的居民、美國總統唐納德·特朗普來說，繼續封鎖無疑是不受歡迎的消息，他曾多次敦促美國儘快恢復商業活動。

However, when asked by reporters if there had been pressure from the president to reopen the nation's capital, Bowser said there had not been.

然而，當記者問及總統是否施壓要求重新開放華盛頓特區時，鮑澤表示並沒有。

Most states have started easing their stay-at-home orders despite rising COVID-19 cases and deaths and repeated warnings from medical experts that there could be renewed spikes in figures if they reopen for business too soon.

儘管確診病例和死亡病例數量不斷上升，醫學專家也一再警告說，如果過早恢復商業活動，病例數量可能會再次激增，但大多數州已經開始放寬“居家令”。

A revised forecast model relied on by the White House is now projecting 147,000 Americans could die in the pandemic by August - an increase of 10,000 on projections from just two days ago - due to the easing of social distancing measures across much of the US.

根據白宮採信的一種修訂後的預測模型，由於美國大部分地區放寬了社交隔離措施，預計到8月份，美國的新冠肺炎死亡病例將達到14.7萬例，比兩天前的預測增加了1萬人。

【美國疫情最新數據】

據美國約翰斯·霍普金斯大學發佈的疫情數據顯示，截至北京時間5月18日6時30分，美國累計確診1484804例，累計死亡89399例。與前一日6時30分數據相比，美國新增確診病例20747例，新增死亡病例926例。