日前，英國衛生大臣漢考克表示，英國發現的高傳染性新冠病毒新毒株已經失去控制，政府宣布疫情防控級別將提升至第四級。消息傳出后，德國、意大利、法國等多個歐洲國家相繼停飛往返英國航班。
France announced on Sunday that it has implemented a 48-hour ban on travel to Britain, joining a growing number of European countries halting travel to Britain after a new strain of the coronavirus was detected in that country. At least six European countries have announced flights will cease if they haven't done so already, while France and Belgium have banned train travel.
法國12月20日宣布，對英國實施48小時的旅行禁令。在英國境內檢測到新冠病毒的一個新變種毒株后，歐洲多國相繼中斷與英國交通。至少6個歐洲國家已宣布往返英國航班將停飛或已停飛，而法國和比利時已經停運往返英國的火車。
French officials said the 48-hour stoppage would give them time to find a "common doctrine" to stop the spread of the new COVID-19 variant. French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.
法國官員稱，48小時旅行禁令將讓他們有時間制定阻止新冠病毒新變種傳播的“共同準則”。法國總統埃馬紐埃爾·馬克龍上周四（12月17日）新冠病毒檢測為陽性。
Germany, which holds the EU presidency, called a special crisis meeting for Monday to coordinate a response.
目前擔任歐盟主席國的德國計劃在12月21日召開特別緊急會議來協調響應機制。
Top health officials in Britain say a new, fast-moving variant of the coronavirus could be up to 70% more transmissible than previous ones. This strain appears to be driving the rapid spread in London and southern England. But there is no evidence the new strain is deadlier or would react differently to the vaccine, according to BBC News.
英國高級衛生官員稱，一種快速傳播的新冠病毒新變種傳染性可能比之前的毒株高出70%。據BBC 新聞報道，這一毒株似乎加速了倫敦和英格蘭南部新冠疫情的蔓延。但是沒有證據表明這一新毒株更致命，或對疫苗會產生不同的反應。
As a result of the new strain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday a new tier of coronavirus restrictions, the strictest yet, and canceled the planned five-day Christmas relaxation period that had been planned from December 23 through 27.
因為新毒株的出現，英國首相鮑里斯·約翰遜上周六（12月19日）宣布了有史以來最嚴格的一套防疫限制新措施，取消了原定為期五天（12月23日至27日）的圣誕節放松管控計劃。
"I know how much emotion people invest in this time of year, and how important it is for grandparents to see their grandchildren," Johnson said Saturday. "But when the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defense."
約翰遜上周六表示：“我知道人們對這個節日傾注了多少感情，也知道祖父母們是多么盼望見到孫兒，但是當病毒改變攻擊方式時，我們也必須改變我們的防御方式。”
Johnson also said the capital and other areas in southern England currently under Tier 3 — the highest level of coronavirus restrictions — will move to an even stricter new Tier 4 that requires all non-essential shops, hairdressers and indoor leisure venues to close after the end of business hours Saturday.
約翰遜還表示，倫敦和英格蘭南部的其他地區目前實行的都是疫情暴發以來最嚴格的三級封鎖限制措施，而且即將在周六營業時間結束后實行更嚴格的四級限制措施，這一新限制措施要求所有非必要的商店、美發店和室內娛樂場所關閉。
Videos went viral on Saturday night of Britons packing London train stations in a last-minute scramble to leave the city ahead of Christmas. British health secretary Matt Hancock described the rush to travel a "totally irresponsible behavior," according to Sky News.
周六晚上英國人涌向倫敦火車站趕在圣誕節前離開倫敦的視頻在網上被瘋傳。根據天空新聞臺的報道，英國衛生大臣馬修·漢考克將此次扎堆出行稱為“完全不負責任的行為”。
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization are investigating the new strain. But he stressed that even if it is found to be more contagious, it reinforces the importance of following existing social distancing guidelines.
美國衛生局局長杰羅姆·亞當斯上周日在《面向全國》節目上表示，美國傳染病研究所、疾控中心和世界衛生組織正在研究這一新毒株。但是他強調，即使研究發現這一新毒株傳染性更強，也只會加強遵從現有社交隔離指導方針的重要性。
"Well, very important for people to know that viruses mutate all the time, and that does not mean that this virus is any more dangerous," Adams said. "We don't even know if it's really more contagious yet or not or if it just happened to be a strain that was involved in a superspreader event. Right now, we have no indications that it is going to hurt our ability to continue vaccinating people or that it is any more dangerous or deadly than the strains that are currently out there and that we know about."
亞當斯說：“讓人們知道病毒一直在變異很重要，但這不意味著這種病毒更加危險。我們甚至都不知道新毒株是否真的更具傳染性，或者只是和超級傳播者有關的一種毒株。當前，沒有跡象表明這一新毒株會損害我們繼續為人們接種疫苗的能力，或者新毒株比已有和已知毒株更危險或更致命。”
英文來源：哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞網
圖文整理：重慶西迪斯翻譯公司
