美国首都华盛顿哥伦比亚特区市长鲍泽近日宣布，华盛顿特区的“居家令”将延长至6月8日，届时再考虑该地区的重启计划。
File photo: the White House in Washington DC. [Photo/VCG]
The District of Columbia, seat of the US federal government, extended its stay-at-home order through June 8, the mayor said on Wednesday.
美国联邦政府所在地华盛顿哥伦比亚特区市长于上周三(5月13日)表示，“居家令”将延长至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.
这一旨在遏制新型冠状病毒传播的居家禁令原定于5月15日结束。
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.
市长穆丽尔·鲍泽表示，美国首都华盛顿特区仍有可能提前重新开放。她告诉记者，如果达到某些标准，包括确诊病例数量下降14天和持续较低的传播率，华盛顿特区或将提前开放。
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.”
到目前为止，华盛顿特区新冠肺炎确诊病例达到6584例，死亡病例为350例。尽管鲍泽表示，数据反映出一些令人鼓舞的迹象，但她说，“我们还没有达到标准。”
'We're not there yet and not quite ready to begin that phased new opening,' Bowser said at a press briefing.
鲍泽在新闻发布会上说：“我们还没有达到标准，还没有做好开始分阶段开放的准备。”
phased [feɪzd]：adj.分阶段实行的
'We will continue to follow the advice of our health officials. Rushing to reopen could have tragic results.'
“我们将继续听从卫生官员的建议。急于重新开放可能会带来悲剧性的后果。”
Medical experts recommend states and regions do not reopen until they have recorded a 14-day decline in new coronavirus cases.
医学专家建议，在新增确诊病例连续下降14天之前，各州和各地区不要重新开放。
Other criteria for reopening have been met, however, including the required capacity for testing, Bowser said.
但鲍泽表示，重新开放的其他标准已经满足，包括病毒检测的能力。
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.
与此同时，白宫敦促各州重新开放商业活动，而公共卫生专家敦促人们保持谨慎。美国顶级传染病专家安东尼·福奇上周二(5月12日)在参议院作证时表示，他担心结束封锁可能会导致无法控制的疫情暴发。
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.
美国国家过敏症和传染病研究所所长福奇对参议院的一个委员会说，美国一些地区的疫情还没有得到控制，他敦促各州遵循建议，在新增病例下降之前不要重新开放。
'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.
福奇说：“我认为我们的方向是正确的，但正确的方向并不意味着我们已经完全控制了疫情。”
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.
美国联邦政府许多工作人员居住在邻近的马里兰州和维吉尼亚州。这两个州已经在部分地区重新开放商业活动，但是紧邻华盛顿特区的大部分郊区仍然实施封锁措施。
Government is considered an essential service, with many workers are currently working from home.
政府工作被认为是必不可少的服务，许多政府部门员工目前在家办公。
“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.
鲍泽说：“我们知道政府是至关重要的，政府的工作是至关重要的，特别是我们的议员。我一直鼓励联邦政府让尽可能多的人远程工作。”
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.
参议员们在居家六周后，于本月初返回华盛顿。国会医生建议议员们戴上口罩，保持6英尺(约合2米)的距离，并限制国会工作人员的数量。
US President Donald Trump looks at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci as Fauci answers a question during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, US, April 17, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
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.
对于该市最著名的居民、美国总统唐纳德·特朗普来说，继续封锁无疑是不受欢迎的消息，他曾多次敦促美国尽快恢复商业活动。
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，当记者问及总统是否施压要求重新开放华盛顿特区时，鲍泽表示并没有。
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.
尽管确诊病例和死亡病例数量不断上升，医学专家也一再警告说，如果过早恢复商业活动，病例数量可能会再次激增，但大多数州已经开始放宽“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.
根据白宫采信的一种修订后的预测模型，由于美国大部分地区放宽了社交隔离措施，预计到8月份，美国的新冠肺炎死亡病例将达到14.7万例，比两天前的预测增加了1万人。
【美国疫情最新数据】
据美国约翰斯·霍普金斯大学发布的疫情数据显示，截至北京时间5月18日6时30分，美国累计确诊1484804例，累计死亡89399例。与前一日6时30分数据相比，美国新增确诊病例20747例，新增死亡病例926例。
英文来源：路透社、每日邮报
