Australia has almost eliminated the coronavirus — by putting faith in science

通过对科学的信任，澳大利亚几乎消灭了冠状病毒


No cases were reported on the island continent Thursday, and only seven since Saturday, besides travelers in hotel quarantine. Eighteen patients are hospitalized with covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. One is in an intensive care unit. Melbourne, the main hotbed of Australia's outbreak which recently emerged from lockdown, has not reported a case since Oct. 30.

周四，没有报告出现新的病例，自周六以来，除了在酒店被隔离的游客外，只有7例新增病例。18名患者因冠状病毒引起的新冠肺炎住院治疗。其中一个在重症监护室。墨尔本是澳大利亚爆发疫情的主要城市，最近才刚刚摆脱封锁，但自10月30日以来一直没有报告出现新的病例

Meanwhile, in the United States, 52,049 people are hospitalized and 10,445 are in an ICU, according to the Covid Tracking Project, a volunteer effort to document the pandemic. America's daily new cases topped 100,000 on Wednesday, and its death toll exceeds 233,000, a staggering figure even accounting for its greater population than Australia, which has recorded 907 deaths.

与此同时，根据志愿组织Covid Tracking Project的数据显示，美国有52,049人住院治疗，10,445人住在重症监护病房。周三，美国每日新增病例超过10万，死亡人数超过23万3千人，这个惊人的数字远远超过了澳大利亚，澳大利亚的死亡人数为907人。

"I never thought we would really get to zero, which is amazing," said Sharon Lewin, the Melbourne-based director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, which provided forecasts in February that formed the basis of the Australian government's response. "I've been going out nonstop, booking restaurants, shopping, getting my nails done and my hair cut."

“我从没想过我们会真的达到零感染，这太神奇了，”墨尔本彼得·多尔蒂感染与免疫研究所主任莎伦·卢因说，该机构在2月份提供了预测，并以此作为澳大利亚政府作出回应的依据。“我一直在不停地外出，预订餐厅，购物，修指甲，剪头发。”

As North America, Europe, India, Brazil and other regions and countries struggle to bring tens of thousands of daily infections under control, Australia provides a real-time road map for democracies to manage the pandemic. Its experience, along with New Zealand's, also shows that success in containing the virus isn't limited to East Asian states.

在北美、欧洲、印度、巴西和其他地区和国家努力控制每天数以万计的感染之际，澳大利亚为民主国家管理这一流行病提供了实时路线图。澳大利亚和新西兰的经验也表明，成功遏制病毒的不仅限于东亚国家

Several practical measures contributed to Australia's success, experts say. The country chose to quickly and tightly seal its borders, a step some others, notably in Europe, did not take. Health officials rapidly built up the manpower to track down and isolate outbreaks. And unlike the U.S. approach, every one of Australia's states either shut their domestic borders or severely limited movement for interstate, and in some cases intrastate, travelers.

专家说，澳大利亚的成功得益于几项切实可行的措施。该国选择迅速而严密地封闭边境，而其他一些国家，尤其是欧洲国家，没有采取这一措施。卫生官员迅速调动人力追踪和隔离疫情。与美国的做法不同的是，澳大利亚的每个州要么关闭国内边境，要么严格限制州际和州内旅客的流动。


"We told the public: 'This is serious; we want your cooperation,' " said Marylouise McLaws, a Sydney-based epidemiologist at the University of New South Wales and a World Health Organization adviser.

“我们告诉公众:‘这很严重;我们希望得到你们的合作，’”玛丽路易丝·姆利基说。她是新南威尔士大学驻悉尼的流行病学家，也是世界卫生组织(who)的顾问。

The conservative prime minister, Scott Morrison, formed a national cabinet with state leaders, known as premiers, from all parties to coordinate decisions. Political conflict was largely suspended, at least initially, and many Australians saw their politicians working together to avert a health crisis.

保守党首相斯科特·莫里森与各党派的国家领导人(即总理)组成了一个国家内阁，以协调决策。政治冲突基本上停止了，至少一开始是这样，许多澳大利亚人看到他们的政治家一起努力避免健康危机。

"Regardless of who you vote for, most Australians would agree their leaders have a real care for their constituents and a following of science," McLaws said. "I think that helped dramatically."

“不管你投给谁，大多数澳大利亚人都会同意，他们的领导人真正关心他们的选民，并奉行科学，” 姆利基说。“我认为这起了很大的作用。”