英语新闻丨全国整体疫情已进入低流行水平

 China's current wave of the COVID-19 epidemic is nearing an end, with rural and remote areas getting through the Spring Festival holiday without spikes in infections and no new virus mutations detected, officials and experts said.

官员和专家说，中国当前的新冠疫情已接近尾声，农村和偏远地区度过了春节假期，没有出现感染高峰，也没有发现新的病毒变异。

Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said at a news briefing on Monday that the epidemic is at a low level nationwide and in steady decline.

国家卫生健康委员会发言人米峰在周一的新闻发布会上表示，全国疫情处于较低水平，呈稳步下降趋势。

China ended the requirement for mass testing on Dec 8 and downgraded its management of the disease from Class A to Class B on Jan 8.

中国在12月8日结束了大规模检测的要求，并在1月8日将其对该疾病的管理从甲类降至乙类。

Following the optimization of the antivirus strategy, the epidemic peaked in late December and then declined. The number of severe cases and deaths at hospitals has continued to trend downward, according to a report released recently by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

12月下旬，随着防疫策略的优化，疫情达到顶峰后有所回落。根据中国疾病预防控制中心最近发布的一份报告，医院的重症病例和死亡人数继续呈下降趋势。

The number of COVID-19 deaths at hospitals peaked at around 4,270 on Jan 4, and fell consistently to reach less than 900 fatalities on Jan 23.

1月4日，新冠病毒在院死亡人数达到4270人左右的峰值，1月23日，死亡人数持续下降至不到900人。

"By late January, the overall epidemic had waned, easing the strain on the nation's medical systems," the report said.

报告称：“截至1月下旬，整体疫情已经减弱，缓解了国家医疗系统的压力。”

No significant rebound occurred during the Spring Festival holiday from Jan 21 to Friday, and no new viral mutation was detected. "This wave of the epidemic is drawing to a conclusion," the report said.

1月21日至27日春节期间，病毒数量未出现明显反弹，未检测到新的病毒突变。报告称：“这一波疫情正在接近尾声。”

Before the weeklong holiday, concerns over the impact of COVID centered on rural areas as millions of migrant workers traveled home.

在为期一周的假期之前，人们对新冠疫情影响的担忧集中在迎接数百万农民工返乡的农村地区。

According to the Ministry of Transport, 226 million trips were made during the holiday, a year-on-year increase of 71.2 percent, but lower than the same period in 2019.

交通运输部数据显示，春节期间，全国共运送旅客2.26亿人次，同比增长71.2%，但低于2019年同期。

Mao Dezhi, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' rural cooperative economy bureau, said rural areas saw no major increase in new infections during the holiday thanks to concerted efforts in protecting vulnerable groups and supplying key medical equipment and oral medications to grassroots clinics.

农业农村部农村合作经济指导司副司长毛德表示，春节期间，农村地区新增感染病例没有大幅增加，是因为我们齐心协力保护了弱势群体，并向基层诊所提供了关键医疗设备和口服药物。

Fu Wei, an official with the National Health Commission's department of primary health, said rural clinics and community healthcare centers made nearly 9.9 million visits to people age 65 and older throughout the holiday. About 40,000 infected patients at risk of becoming seriously ill were transferred to higher-level hospitals.

国家卫生健康委员会初级卫生司官员傅伟表示，春节期间，农村诊所和社区卫生服务中心为65岁及以上老年人提供了近990万次就诊。 转移了4万余名危重感染患者。

"Monitoring data shows that over 94 percent of grassroots clinics have been supplied with sufficient traditional Chinese medicine and pills to reduce fever and coughing pills to last at least one week, and some have stocked up on COVID-19 oral medications," she said.

她说：“监测数据显示，超过94%的基层诊所已获得足够的中药和退烧药和至少持续一周的止咳药，有些诊所还储备了新冠口服药物。”

Despite the waning epidemic, officials said rural areas remain the priority for disease control work. With increasing cross-border travel, regular surveillance to access the trajectory of the epidemic as well as virus mutations will also be ramped up.

尽管疫情有所减弱，但官员们表示，农村地区仍然是疾病控制工作的重点。随着跨境旅行的增加，还将加强对疫情轨迹和病毒突变的定期监测。

Chen Cao, a researcher at the China CDC said the dominant strains driving the latest wave were BF.7 and BA.5.2, and no other novel coronavirus strains are circulating widely.

中国疾病预防控制中心研究员陈操表示，推动最新一波疫情的主要毒株是BF.7和BA.5.2，其他新型冠状病毒毒株没有广泛传播。

"During the holiday, we received 1,421 genome sequences submitted by local authorities," he said. "They consisted of 11 types of lineages … and no new mutation was identified."

他说：“春节期间，我们收到了地方政府提交的1421个基因组序列。它们由11种类型的血统组成……没有发现新的突变。”

Chen added that China will continue regular surveillance of outpatients, emergency room visits, severe COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as inbound travelers, to keep a close watch on viral mutations and take precautions.

他还补充说，中国将继续对门诊病人、急诊室就诊、重症和死亡病例，以及入境旅客进行定期监测，密切关注病毒突变并采取预防措施。

According to National Immigration Administration data, 2.87 million cross-border trips were made during the holiday, including 1.43 million inbound trips and 1.44 million outbound trips, a 120.5 percent year-on-year increase.

国家移民管理局数据显示，春节期间跨境旅游人次达287万人次，其中入境旅游143万人次，出境旅游144万人次，同比增长120.5%。

The World Health Organization said in a statement on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern — its highest alert level.

世界卫生组织在周一的一份声明中说，新冠病毒将继续构成国际关注的公共卫生紧急情况——最高警报级别。

However, the pandemic may be approaching a turning point, the statement said. While expanding vaccination programs can limit the disease's threat, the WHO said it is almost certain that the virus will remain "a permanently established pathogen in humans and animals in the foreseeable future."

然而，声明还称，大流行可能正在接近一个转折点。虽然推广疫苗接种计划可以限制这种疾病的威胁，但世界卫生组织表示，不难否定，这种病毒将继续“在不久的将来仍会成为人类和动物永久的病原体。”

Careful and long-term public health plans should be made to mitigate the disease's devastating consequences on people's lives, it added.

它补充说，应制定严谨通用的长期公共卫生计划，以减轻疾病对人们生活带来的破坏性后果。

Spike

英 [spaɪk]      美 [spaɪk]

v.阻止…传播

Surveillance

英 [sɜːˈveɪləns ]美 [sɜːrˈveɪləns]

n.监督

Pathogen

英[ˈpæθədʒən]美[ˈpæθədʒən]

n.病原体