新加坡早期抗疫获赞之后确诊病例急升

    Singapore has been praised for limiting the spread of the coronavirus. But infections have risen recently among migrant workers.
    新加坡因为限制了新冠病毒的传播而备受赞誉。但是最近外来务工人员当中的感染率有所上升。

    The city-state now has the most infections in Southeast Asia. As a result, Singapore is bringing back some restrictions.
    这座城市国家目前是东南亚感染人数最多的国家。因此,新加坡开始恢复一些限制措施。

    Singapore's Ministry of Health said that, as of Monday, about 87 percent of reported cases are workers living in dorms. These kinds of housing can have up to 20 people living in one room.
    新加坡卫生部表示,截至周一,已报告病例中约有87%是住在宿舍的务工人员。这类住房最多可以容纳20人合住一间房间。

    Singapore is known for having a high number of foreign workers who come from Britain and other places to work in business or banking. But many foreign laborers come as well. They include Philippine cleaners and Bangladeshi building laborers.
    新加坡以拥有大量来自英国等地从事商业或银行业的外籍雇员而闻名。但是也来了许多外籍劳工。他们包括菲律宾清洁工和孟加拉国建筑工。

    Migrant workers are part of Singapore's two-track economy of both high-paying technology jobs and low-paying labor jobs.
    外来务工人员是新加坡既有高薪技术工作,又有低薪劳动工作的双轨经济的一部分。

    The activist group Transient Workers Count Too said it has been warning that crowding among migrants presented a risk of viral spread. Alex Au is the group's vice president. He said, "There's no denying now that density and poor ventilation in our dorms" helps spread disease.
    “客工亦重”激进组织表示,该组织警告过外来务工人员的拥挤存在传播病毒的危险。区伟鹏是该组织的副主席。他说:“现在不可否认的是我们宿舍的高密度和通风不良”助长了疾病传播。

    But he said that is only part of the problem.
    但是他表示,这只是冰山一角。

    Au said Singapore is too dependent on low-cost labor. Migrant workers there are getting attention now because they make up a large majority of Singapore's COVID-19 cases.
    区伟鹏表示,新加坡过于依赖廉价劳动力。外来务工人员现在受到关注,因为他们占到了新加坡新冠肺炎病例的绝大部分。

    Before the large increase in infections, experts had praised Singapore for its strong actions to limit the spread of the disease. Experts said measures such as fast treatment for patients, following contacts of people who could carry the disease and travel restrictions were successful.
    在感染大量增加之前,专家们曾经盛赞新加坡为限制这种疾病所采取的强力措施。专家们表示,新加坡所采取的诸如对病人进行快速治疗,追踪潜在病例的密切接触者,以及限制出行等措施都是成功的。

    Travel restrictions, however, could not prevent the spread of COVID-19 within Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the disease was "hidden" as it spread largely among laborers. New cases have increased in the past three weeks after being comparatively low before then.
    但是旅行限制并不能阻止新冠肺炎在新加坡的传播。新加坡总理李显龙表示,这种疾病隐秘地在劳工中广泛传播。在此前相对较低的感染率之后,过去三周的新增病例有所增加。

    HOME is a non-profit organization in Singapore aimed at helping workers. The group said in a statement: "The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that migrant workers are indispensable" to the operation of the country.
    人道主义移民组织(HOME)是一家旨在帮助务工人员的非营利组织。该组织在一份声明中表示:“新冠肺炎大流行表明外来务工人员对新加坡的运转来说是必不可少的。”

    Singapore's Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said there is "no question" that Singapore should improve conditions in the dorms.
    新加坡人力大臣杨莉明表示,新加坡“毫无疑问”应该改善宿舍条件。

    Teo's ministry is helping with providing food and supervising workers at the dorms. But she said Singapore must deal with the virus emergency before it can deal with workers' living conditions over the long term.
    杨莉明领导的人力部正协助监督宿舍工人并为他们提供食物。但是她表示,新加坡在能够长远地处理好务工人员的居住条件之前,必须先解决好这次病毒紧急状况。

    The Health Ministry said it is increasing testing for the virus in the dorms. It is also following possible carriers, a method known as contact tracing.
    新加坡卫生部表示已经加大了对劳工宿舍的病毒检测。该部门也在追踪潜在携带者,这种方法被称为接触者追踪。

    Health Minister Gan Kim Yong spoke Monday about the new measures. He said Singapore had increased health care workers and expanded medical centers in preparation for more cases.
    新加坡卫生部长颜金勇周一就新加坡所采取的新措施发表了讲话。他说,新加坡增加了医护人员,扩大了医疗中心,为出现更多病例做准备。

    Officials are especially concerned about what are called "unlinked" cases. For these cases, it is unclear how the virus spread from one person to the next.
    官员们尤为关注所谓的“无关联”病例。对于这些病例,目前尚不清楚这种病毒如何从一个人传播到另一个人。

    Labor activist Au said he hopes the health crisis will bring attention to important labor issues like high payments to recruiters and unpaid work for migrants.
    劳工激进分子区伟鹏表示,他希望这次健康危机能够引起人们对重要劳工问题的关注,例如向招聘人员支付高薪以及面向移民的无薪工作。

    Au said labor unfairness is a "structural problem" that opens the country to many other problems. He added, "It's hard to predict where the next crisis might come from."
    区伟鹏表示,劳工不公是一个“结构性问题,”使国家面临许多其它问题。他还说,“很难预测下一次危机可能从何而来。”

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