2月21日早间英语播报：Progress seen in epidemic fight

Medical workers present a birthday gift to a patient who recovered from novel coronavirus pneumonia at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Tuesday. The patient was later discharged from the hospital. WANG YUGUO / XINHUA

Number of discharged patients on Tuesday exceeds new infection reports for first time

China reported milestone progress in controlling the novel coronavirus epidemic on Wednesday, with a steady decline in new cases and increased recovery rates. At the same time, Wuhan in Hubei province, where the epidemic remains a serious problem, is on track to wrap up a three-day screening campaign.

The number of newly discharged patients on the Chinese mainland exceeded new infections for the first time on Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission, which registered 1,824 patients discharged from hospitals and 1,749 new confirmed cases throughout the day.

Eight provincial-level regions, including the economic hub Shanghai, as well as Liaoning province in the northeast and Hainan province in the south, reported no new infections on Tuesday.

According to commission spokesman Mi Feng, outside Hubei, the outbreak's epicenter, the number of confirmed cases has dropped for 15 consecutive days and the daily death toll has stayed relatively low.

"In Hubei, new infections have been dropping since Feb 13, and the accumulated confirmed cases are leveling off, signifying that the epidemic in the region is under better control and recovery rates are on the rise," he said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The mainland death toll rose by 136 on Tuesday to 2,004. The cumulative number of infections stood at 74,185, and a total of 14,376 patients had been discharged from hospitals by Tuesday, according to the commission.

While the overall epidemic appears to be trending in a positive direction, Wang Zhonglin, Party secretary of Wuhan, where the pathogen first emerged in December, said, "The situation of epidemic control and prevention is still grim, and we must stay sober and avoid becoming blindly optimistic."

On Tuesday alone, Wuhan added 1,660 new confirmed cases — nearly 95 percent of the national total. Meanwhile, 9,562 patients in the city are in severe condition, representing close to 80 percent of the 11,977 seriously ill patients nationwide, according to the commission.

The local government launched a three-day operation on Monday of door-to-door checks across all communities to identify infected people, suspected cases and those who have had close contact with the infected. The campaign is scheduled to close by the end of Wednesday.

Wang said in a video conference on Tuesday that determining the backlog of unknown cases is a step of paramount importance to fighting the disease.

Each district should promise that no suspected or confirmed cases will be left unattended at home when the campaign is completed, he said.

"The screening must be taken seriously as people's lives are at stake," he said. "If there is any case that slips through the net, heads of the district will be held accountable."

Wang urged stepping up nucleic acid testing and ensuring that all confirmed and suspected patients, close contacts and people with fever are tested before Thursday and promptly transferred to appropriate facilities.

During the meeting, he also raised the issue of delays in transferring diagnosed patients at centralized isolation sites to designated hospitals or temporary treatment centers. Their condition could worsen due to a lack of standard treatment.

The Wuhan government has planned to set up a new group of temporary hospitals by refitting idle warehouses, factories and railway station halls, the city's internet information office said late Tuesday.

Twelve temporary hospitals converted from gymnasiums, exhibition centers and sports centers in the city are now fully operational, and a handful of such facilities, including those in colleges and schools, have begun receiving patients. They will operate at full capacity when they have sufficient medical supplies and staff.

In the latest official diagnosis and treatment guideline released on Wednesday, the National Health Commission confirmed that aerosol transmission of the novel coronavirus — droplets carrying the virus that mix with the air and are inhaled — is possible if one is exposed to a highly concentrated mixture in an enclosed area for an extended period.

The guideline also added the anti-malarial drug chloroquine and the anti-viral drug Arbidol to the list of therapies considered effective in inhibiting the growth of the virus. Infusions of blood plasma from recovered patients are recommended for patients displaying serious or critical symptoms, according to the guideline.

The document also cautioned that patients should monitor health conditions and continue to quarantine themselves for 14 days.

At two and four weeks after being discharged, they are supposed to revisit the hospital and undergo a checkup, it said.

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记者：王小予

播报：Corrie Knight

原文链接：

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202002/20/WS5e4d91bba310128217278cc5.html

【阅读背景】

武汉开展3天集中拉网式大排查 要求“不漏一户、不漏一人”

　　2月16日，湖北省委常委、武汉市委书记王忠林召开视频会，部署开展为期3天的集中拉网式大排查，要求在中央指导组的推动下落实五个“百分之百”工作目标，坚决遏制疫情扩散蔓延。五个“百分之百”举措即“确诊患者百分之百应收尽收、疑似患者百分之百核酸检测、发热病人百分之百进行检测、密切接触者百分之百隔离、小区村庄百分之百实行24小时封闭管理。”

　　王忠林表示，开展3天集中拉网清底大排查，是贯彻落实应收尽收的重要举措；是坚持人民生命至上的具体举措；是阻断传染源、保民安民的关键举措；是打赢武汉保卫战的具体举措。

　　武汉疫情防控指挥部要求，在开展集中拉网式大排查过程中，对不服从小区封闭管理的人员，要严肃依法处理，予以曝光；各区要及时完善物资配送体系，为“宅”家市民提供生活必需品保障；要组织一切力量，加快核酸检测，对居家发热疑似患者尽快排查；要千方百计保护好社区工作者。

　　在大排查中，武汉要求公安、社区、网格一体化推动，实现人工和科技手段相结合，坚持“不漏一户、不漏一人”，同时分类收治。

　　又电 （记者田豆豆、程远州）记者从武汉市疫情防控指挥部获悉：截至2月16日24时，武汉市现有确诊患者总数36385人，当日新增1690人；现有疑似病人1971人，当日实际新增338人，扣除疑似转确诊、疑似转临床诊断、疑似排除后，现有疑似病人较上日减少197人；全市累计病亡1309例。截至2月17日凌晨，累计有209支医疗队26187名医务人员援助武汉。（记者田豆豆、程远州）

中文来源：新华网

中文链接：

http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2020-02/18/c_1125589417.htm