VOA慢速英语--奥运会禁止球迷入场，东京处于紧急状态

Fans Banned at Olympics, Tokyo Under State of Emergency

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said Thursday that spectators are banned from the Tokyo Olympics set to open in two weeks.

The ban came hours after a state of emergency declared by Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga aimed at controlling rising COVID-19 infections.

Koike announced the ban after meeting with International Olympic Committee and Japanese organizers.

"Many people were looking forward to watching the games at the venues², but I would like everyone to fully³ enjoy watching the games on TV at home," Koike said.

Suga said the state of emergency would go in effect on Monday and last through August 22. This means the Olympics, to be held July 23 through August 8, will operate under emergency measures.

"In order to prevent the resurgence⁴ of infections from spreading across the country, we need to step up virus prevention measures," Suga said.

Officials reported 896 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up from 673 a week earlier. New cases on Wednesday hit 920, the highest total since 1,010 were reported on May 13.

Experts warned of the possibility of increased infections during the games at a meeting of government advisers⁵. They estimate cases could increase to more than 1,000 a day, which would severely⁶ affect health care systems.

Ryuji Wakita is director-general of Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the head of a government COVID-19 advisory⁷ group. He urged stronger border controls to find and separate infected persons arriving at airports to prevent infections from spreading outside of Tokyo.

One member of the Ugandan Olympic team tested positive upon arrival June 19 at Narita International Airport. The athlete was then separated from others. The eight other team members were permitted to travel more than 500 kilometers on a bus to their pre-Olympics camp in Osaka.

Days later, a second Ugandan team member tested positive for the virus. Seven town officials and drivers who had close contact with the team were forced to quarantine themselves as a result. Health officials said both infected Ugandans had the delta⁸ variant⁹, a more infectious version of the coronavirus.

On Saturday, a Serbian Olympic team member also tested positive. The government confirmed that four other Olympians tested positive after entering the country earlier this year.

Experts say the cases show that Japan's border health controls can be easily broken.

"There will be more people coming in. ... We should use this as a lesson so that similar problems won't be repeated elsewhere in Japan," said Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura. He spoke¹⁰ at a recent area governors' meeting where leaders approved an urgent request for stronger border controls.

Under newly defined health measures, airport officials will isolate¹¹ an entire group if any member tests positive. They will also stay at separate housing areas until the Olympic village opens July 12. Towns holding Olympic events can request that guests stop training and quarantine themselves until they are cleared by medical tests.

In Tokyo, infections are spreading among children and young adults who are largely unvaccinated. Experts say 26 percent of older adults are now fully vaccinated¹².

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Our World in Data report that 13.8 percent of people in Japan are fully vaccinated. That is slightly above the world average of 11.3 percent. But it is low compared with 47.4 percent in the United States and 49.5 percent in Britain.

On June 21, Japan eased its third state of emergency to less severe measures. Those measures centered on shorter operating hours at drinking places and restaurants in Tokyo and other areas until July 11.

Words in This Story

resurgence– n. a growth or increase that occurs after a period without growth or increase

positive - n. the result from a test that shows that a particular germ, condition, or substance is present

spectator - n. a person who watches an event, show, game, activity, etc., often as part of an audience

venue¹ - n. the place where an event takes place

1 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

2 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

5 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

6 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。

7 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

8 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。

9 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

12 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？