VOA健康报道2022--农历新年过后亚洲新冠确诊人数上升

Asia Sees Rise in COVID-19 Cases after Lunar New Year

Many Asian nations have reported a rise in COVID-19 infections following the Lunar New Year holiday. Lunar New Year was widely celebrated¹ in China and other parts of Asia beginning February 1.

The celebrations came as many countries kept pandemic restrictions² in place in hopes of preventing virus spread. The rules included limits on the size of public and family gatherings³.

In Hong Kong, officials reported a record rise in COVID-19 cases, with 614 local infections identified.

Hong Kong has established a "zero-COVID" policy that aims to quickly stop new outbreaks before they have time to spread widely. The policy calls for lockdowns at housing buildings that experience a large number of infections. Hong Kong has also banned restaurants from operating after 6:00 at night.

Edwin Tsui is with Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection. He told reporters on Monday that officials expect to see more cases in the coming days. "With our current containment⁴ measures, we hope we can still contain the disease," Tsui said.

Singapore has reported a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections after last week's holiday. Officials there said new cases reached 13,000 on Friday. The city-state has reported more than 100,000 cases over the past month. But officials say about 99 percent of cases are considered light. Many of those infected have shown no signs of sickness.

Other Asian nations have seen similar increases in case numbers as the Omicron version of COVID-19 has become dominant⁵. Officials in several countries report that Omicron has a much lower rate of hospitalizations and deaths than the earlier Delta⁶ version of the virus.

In Japan, nearly 90,000 new cases nationwide were reported on Sunday. This included 17,526 in Tokyo. Experts say the infections are now spreading to older people who are beginning to fill more hospital beds.

In Indonesia, case levels were close to the height of last year's Delta version outbreak. On January 6, Indonesia recorded 533 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths. On Sunday, the daily number was 36,057. Daily deaths rose to 57, nearly four times the rate one week ago.

In Thailand, officials reported more than 10,000 daily cases Monday for the third day straight. But the Department of Disease Control said the number of severely⁷ sick patients was dropping and the death rate had stayed about the same.

In South Korea, officials reported 38,691 new cases of the virus. Health experts warned the country may see daily increases of 130,000 or 170,000 by late February.

In Vietnam, officials had warned that infections may rise after the popular New Year holiday. Over the past month, Vietnam has reported just 192 cases of Omicron, with most of those showing few or no signs of sickness.

The Philippines has moved to ease COVID-19 restrictions and open its doors to foreign visitors. Officials reported Sunday that case numbers eased to about 8,300 on Sunday. That was down from a high of 39,000 in mid-January.

In mainland China, new local infections continue to move up and down. Cases fell as low as nine on Friday but rose again to 45 on Monday. The majority of the new cases are in the southern area of Guangxi.

China ordered severe restrictions and mass testing ahead of the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which began last Friday.

Words in This Story

outbreak – n. a sudden start or increase in disease

lockdown – n. an emergency in which people are not permitted to freely move about an area because of danger

dominant – adj. the main or most important part of something

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

4 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。