第2071期:WHO: More COVID Deaths after Holiday Gatherings

The World Health Organization (WHO) says holiday gatherings and the spread of a new COVID-19 variant led to increased hospitalizations and deaths last month. 世界卫生组织 (WHO) 表示，假日聚会和新的 COVID-19 变种的传播导致上个月住院和死亡人数增加。WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December. He added that hospitalizations during the month jumped 42 percent in nearly 50 countries. 世卫组织总干事谭德塞周三表示，12 月份报告有近 1 万人死亡。他补充说，本月近 50 个国家的住院人数猛增了 42%。 Tedros said, “Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable." 谭德塞表示，“虽然每月1万人的死亡人数远低于疫情高峰期，但这种可预防的死亡人数是不可接受的。” Tedros said it was “certain” that cases of COVID-19 were increasing in other places that have not been reporting case numbers. 谭德塞表示，“可以肯定”，在其他尚未报告病例数的地方，COVID-19 病例正在增加。 Tedros said the JN.1 variant is now the most common in the world. Since it is an Omicron variant, current vaccines should still provide some protection. Health officials in the U.S. say there is no evidence that JN.1 causes more severe disease than recent variants. 谭德塞表示，JN.1 变种目前是世界上最常见的变种。由于它是 Omicron 变种，目前的疫苗仍应提供一些保护。美国卫生官员表示，没有证据表明 JN.1 会导致比最近的变种更严重的疾病。 In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there have been at least 110,000 hospitalizations and 6,500 deaths from the flu since October. 在美国，疾病控制与预防中心 (CDC) 报告称，自 10 月份以来，已有至少 11 万人因流感住院治疗，6,500 人死亡。 The agency added that COVID-19 illnesses were not increasing as quickly flu illnesses. Still, COVID-19 is putting more people in the hospital than the flu. 该机构补充说，COVID-19 疾病的增长速度没有流感疾病那么快。尽管如此，新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 导致住院的人数仍多于流感。 Maria Van Kerkhove is the technical lead at WHO for COVID-19. She said there is an increase in respiratory diseases around the world due to COVID-19, flu and pneumonia. Maria Van Kerkhove 是世界卫生组织 COVID-19 技术负责人。她说，由于 COVID-19、流感和肺炎，世界各地的呼吸道疾病有所增加。 “We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere,” Van Kerkhove said. She added there have also been increases in COVID-19 in the southern hemisphere, where it is now summer. 范科霍夫说：“我们预计这些趋势将持续到北半球的一月到冬季。” 她补充说，现在正值夏季的南半球，COVID-19 病例也有所增加。 WHO officials suggest that people get vaccinated, wear face coverings, and make sure air can move in and out of indoor areas. 世卫组织官员建议人们接种疫苗、戴口罩并确保空气可以进出室内区域。 Michael Ryan is the head of emergencies at the WHO. He said, “The vaccines may not stop you from being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying.” 迈克尔·瑞安（Michael Ryan）是世界卫生组织紧急情况负责人。他说：“疫苗可能无法阻止你被感染，但疫苗肯定会大大降低你住院或死亡的机会。”