養(yǎng)老院成為美國(guó)新冠肺炎疫情暴發(fā)的“震中”地帶，無(wú)助的老年人已是美國(guó)政府抗疫不力的最大受害群體。據(jù)統(tǒng)計(jì)，在美國(guó)14個(gè)州，養(yǎng)老院新冠肺炎死亡病例竟已達(dá)全州死亡病例總數(shù)的一半以上。

Privately compiled data shows Covid-19 deaths of nursing home residents now account for more than half of all fatalities in 14 states, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Only 33 states report nursing home-related deaths.

根據(jù)凱撒家庭基金會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)，養(yǎng)老院老人新冠肺炎死亡數(shù)如今在美國(guó)14個(gè)州都占到了全州死亡病例的一半以上。只有33個(gè)州報(bào)告了養(yǎng)老院新冠肺炎死亡病例。

“I was on a phone call last week, where four or five patients came into our hospital just in one day from nursing homes,” said infectious disease specialist Dr Sunil Parikh, of Yale School of Public Health in Connecticut. “It’s just a staggering number day to day.”

康涅狄格州耶魯大學(xué)公共衛(wèi)生學(xué)院的傳染病專家蘇尼爾·帕里克博士說(shuō)：“上周我接到了電話，一天之內(nèi)就有四五位病人從養(yǎng)老院轉(zhuǎn)到我們醫(yī)院，每天的數(shù)字都很驚人?！?/p>

Despite early warnings that nursing homes were vulnerable to Covid-19, because of group living settings and the age of residents, the federal government is only beginning to gather national data.

盡管早前就有警告稱，由于群體居住環(huán)境和年齡問(wèn)題，養(yǎng)老院的老人很容易感染新冠肺炎，但聯(lián)邦政府才剛剛開始收集全國(guó)的數(shù)據(jù)。

In Connecticut, 194 of 216 nursing homes have had at least one Covid-19 case. Nearly half the Covid-19 deaths in the state have been of nursing home residents. The proportion is higher elsewhere. In New Hampshire, 72% of deaths have been nursing home residents.

在康涅狄格州，216家養(yǎng)老院中有194家至少有一例新冠肺炎確診病例。該州近半數(shù)的新冠肺炎死亡病例是養(yǎng)老院的老人。其他地方的比例更高。在新罕布什爾州，72%的新冠肺炎死亡患者是養(yǎng)老院的老人。

Parikh said limited testing and a lack of personal protective equipment such as masks hampered efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 in care homes. Due to limited testing capacity, most state nursing homes are still only able to test residents with symptoms, even though the disease is known to spread asymptomatically.

帕里克說(shuō)，檢測(cè)數(shù)量有限、口罩等個(gè)人防護(hù)設(shè)備缺乏，這些都阻礙了在養(yǎng)老院遏制新冠肺炎傳播的工作。由于檢測(cè)能力有限，盡管人們知道新冠肺炎可以無(wú)癥狀傳播，大多數(shù)州的養(yǎng)老院仍然只能對(duì)有癥狀的老人進(jìn)行檢測(cè)。

asymptomatically[,es?mpt?'m?t?kli]：adv.無(wú)癥狀地

“What I would like to see is the ability to test the entire nursing homes,” Parikh said. “This symptomatic approach is just not cutting it. Many states, including Connecticut, are starting to move in that direction … but I hope it becomes a national effort.”

帕里克說(shuō)：“我希望看到的是可以對(duì)所有養(yǎng)老院的老人進(jìn)行檢測(cè)。這種檢測(cè)出現(xiàn)癥狀者的方法并不能阻斷傳播。包括康涅狄格在內(nèi)的許多州正開始朝這個(gè)方向努力，但我希望這能成為一項(xiàng)全國(guó)性的做法?！?/p>

Nursing homes have been closed to the public for weeks but a bleak picture has nonetheless emerged. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy called in 120 members of the state national guard to help long-term care facilities, after 17 bodies piled up in one nursing home.

養(yǎng)老院已經(jīng)對(duì)公眾關(guān)閉了數(shù)周，但前景依然黯淡。新澤西州州長(zhǎng)菲爾·墨菲召集了120名州國(guó)民警衛(wèi)隊(duì)成員，幫助長(zhǎng)期護(hù)理機(jī)構(gòu)。此前，一家養(yǎng)老院里曾堆放著17具尸體。

In Maine, a 72-year-old woman who went into a home to recover from surgery died just a few months later.

在緬因州，一名72歲的婦女手術(shù)后到一家養(yǎng)老院康復(fù)，幾個(gè)月后死亡。

“I feel like I failed my mom because I put her in the wrong nursing home,” the woman’s daughter, Andrea Donovan, told the Bangor Daily News. “This facility is responsible for so much sadness for this family for not protecting their residents.”

她的女兒安德里亞·多諾萬(wàn)在接受《班戈日?qǐng)?bào)》采訪時(shí)說(shuō)：“我覺(jué)得我辜負(fù)了母親，因?yàn)槲也辉摪阉偷竭@家養(yǎng)老院。這家養(yǎng)老院沒(méi)有保護(hù)好老人們，應(yīng)該為給我們的家庭造成的傷痛負(fù)責(zé)?！?/p>

Fifteen states have moved to shield nursing homes from lawsuits, according to Modern Healthcare.

根據(jù)《現(xiàn)代醫(yī)療保健》，15個(gè)州已經(jīng)采取行動(dòng)保護(hù)養(yǎng)老院免受訴訟。

Nursing home residents were among the first known cases of Covid-19 in the US. In mid-February in suburban Kirkland, Washington, 80 of 130 residents in one facility were sickened by an unknown respiratory illness, later identified as Covid-19.

美國(guó)第一批已知的部分新冠確診病例就出現(xiàn)在養(yǎng)老院。2月中旬，在華盛頓州柯克蘭的郊區(qū)，一家養(yǎng)老院內(nèi)130名老人中有80人感染了一種未知的呼吸道疾病，之后被確診為新冠肺炎。

Statistics from Kirkland now appear to tell the national story. Of 129 staff members, visitors and residents who got sick, all but one of the 22 who died were older residents, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

來(lái)自柯克蘭的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字現(xiàn)在似乎說(shuō)明了美國(guó)的情況。根據(jù)美國(guó)疾病控制與預(yù)防中心的數(shù)據(jù)，在129名員工、到訪者和生病的老人中，22名死者中除了一人以外，其他都是年齡較大的老人。

By early March, most Covid-19 deaths in the US could still be traced to Kirkland.

截至3月初，美國(guó)大多數(shù)新冠肺炎死亡病例仍可追溯至柯克蘭。

“One thing stands out as the virus spreads throughout the United States: nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are ground zero,” wrote Dr Tom Frieden, the former head of the CDC, for CNN on 8 March.

3月8日，美國(guó)疾病控制與預(yù)防中心前負(fù)責(zé)人湯姆·弗里登博士在接受美國(guó)有限電視新聞網(wǎng)采訪時(shí)寫道：“隨著病毒在美國(guó)的傳播，有一件事格外引人注目：養(yǎng)老院和其他長(zhǎng)期護(hù)理機(jī)構(gòu)是暴發(fā)中心?！?/p>

That day, Frieden called on federal authorities to ban visitors from nursing homes. US authorities announced new measures to protect residents several days later.

當(dāng)天，弗里登呼吁聯(lián)邦當(dāng)局禁止人們到訪養(yǎng)老院。幾天后，美國(guó)當(dāng)局宣布了保護(hù)養(yǎng)老院老人的新措施。

The CDC investigation into Kirkland was released on 18 March. It contained another warning: “Substantial morbidity and mortality might be averted if all long-term care facilities take steps now to prevent exposure of their residents to Covid-19.”

美國(guó)疾病控制與預(yù)防中心對(duì)柯克蘭的調(diào)查結(jié)果于3月18日公布。報(bào)告中還提出了另一個(gè)警告：“如果所有長(zhǎng)期護(hù)理機(jī)構(gòu)現(xiàn)在都采取措施，防止老人感染新冠肺炎，就可能避免大量老人發(fā)病和死亡。”

It was not until 19 April that the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services promised to track all deaths in nursing homes. That requirement went into effect this Friday, but there is still a two-week grace period for compliance. During the period from 19 April to 8 May, 13,000 people died, according to an NBC News analysis.

直到4月19日，醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)和醫(yī)療補(bǔ)助服務(wù)中心的負(fù)責(zé)人才承諾跟蹤養(yǎng)老院里的所有死亡病例。這一要求于上周五（5月8日）生效，但仍有兩周的寬限期。根據(jù)美國(guó)全國(guó)廣播公司新聞?lì)l道的分析，在4月19日至5月8日期間，有1.3萬(wàn)人死于新冠肺炎。

“This is really decimating state after state,” said Parikh. “We have to have a very rapid shift [of focus] to the nursing homes, the veteran homes … Covid will be with us for many months.”

帕里克說(shuō)：“這真是一個(gè)州接一個(gè)州的大批死亡。我們必須非常迅速地把注意力轉(zhuǎn)移到養(yǎng)老院和老年護(hù)理機(jī)構(gòu)。新冠肺炎疫情還將持續(xù)好幾個(gè)月?！?/p>

decimate [?des?me?t]：v.大批殺害，大量毀滅

英文來(lái)源：衛(wèi)報(bào)

翻譯&編輯：yaning