Mon, Jun 21, 2021 page9

• England delays ending COVID lockdown 防堵變種病毒 英格蘭延期解封

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  The planned fourth phase of removing lockdown in England, UK, due to take place on 21 June, has been delayed for four weeks.

  As widely expected, Downing Street has decided to delay the final unlocking, which would have allowed businesses like nightclubs to reopen and lifted many other restrictions. This will not happen until 19 July at the earliest.

  Why has the decision been made? For one reason: the Delta variant. Now dominant in the UK, this variant, first identified in India, is between 40 percent and 80 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant it supplanted, with infection numbers rising 64 percent week on week, and doubling by the week in some parts of the country. Hospitalization numbers are rising 50 percent week on week, and by 61 percent in the north-west of England, with modeling suggested that if the June 21 easing went ahead as planned, patient numbers could approach those seen in the peak of the first wave of coronavirus in spring 2020.

  

  A sign on the side of a London bus telling members of the public that they must wear a face covering while traveling on public transport is pictured on Oxford Street in central London on June 7. 倫敦巴士一側之標示，向大眾宣導在乘坐公共運輸工具時必須戴口罩。六月七日攝於倫敦市中心牛津街。

  Photo: AFP 照片：法新社

  What will the delay do? Again, the reasoning is very simple: to allow more people to be vaccinated, whether with a first injection or both. The plan is to step up vaccinations, to have offered all adults at least a first vaccination by July 19, and to have offered two to all people aged over 50 or clinically vulnerable, against the earlier target of the end of July. The wait time between the first and second injection for the over-40s will also be shortened from 12 weeks to eight weeks. With two jabs shown to be especially effective in mitigating against serious illness, and even one playing a significant role in reducing someone’s propensity to transmit COVID, No 10 says modeling shows that a four-week delay could save “thousands” of lives.

  (The Guardian)

  英國原訂六月二十一日將英格蘭地區第四階段解封，此計畫將延後四週。

  正如普遍預期，英國政府決定延後此最後階段之解封──包括讓夜總會等商家重新開業，並鬆綁許多其他限制。現在這最快也要等到七月十九日才能夠實現。

  為何做出此決定？原因只有一個：Delta變種病毒。此變種首先在印度發現，現已取代Alpha變種病毒〔首先在英國發現〕，成為在英國傳染的主要病毒株，其傳染性高了百分之四十至八十，使感染人數每週增加百分之六十四，有些地區則是每週增加一倍。住院人數每週增加百分之五十，英格蘭西北部則是增加百分之六十一。模型模擬結果顯示，若按原計畫在六月二十一日解封，冠狀病毒患者人數可能會接近二O二O年春季所發生之第一波疫情高峰人數。

  延期解封之目的為何？理由一樣很簡單：為了讓更多人接種疫苗，無論是注射第一劑或接種兩劑者。政府打算加快疫苗接種速度，在七月十九日之前提供所有成年人至少第一劑疫苗接種，並為所有五十歲以上或臨床易受感染之民眾提供兩劑疫苗接種，原先設定達到此目標之日期為七月底。四十歲以上民眾注射第一劑和第二劑之間的等待期間，也將從十二週縮短為八週。經證明，注射兩劑疫苗後，對減輕重症特別有效，即使是只注射一劑，也會明顯降低COVID之傳播力。英國政府表示，模擬模型顯示，延期四週解封，可挽救「數千人」之生命。

  （台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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