在经历了数月的下降之后，美国新冠肺炎病例数再次攀升。
The number of new cases a day has increased by 100 percent over the past three weeks. Experts say the increase has been caused by the fast-spreading delta variant, low vaccination rates and recent holiday gatherings in the country.
过去3周美国单日新增确诊人数增加了100%。专家表示，这一增长是由传播迅猛的德尔塔变种、疫苗接种率不高和美国最近的假期人群聚集造成的。
Confirmed infections rose to an average of about 23,600 a day on July 12, up from 11,300 on June 23. Those numbers come from reports from Johns Hopkins University. Every state except two — Maine and South Dakota — reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks.
单日确诊人数从6月23日的11300人上升到7月12日的23600人左右。这些数据来自于约翰·霍普金斯大学的报告。除了缅因州和南达科塔州以外的每个州过去两周都报告了确诊病例人数的增长。
"It is certainly no coincidence that we are looking at exactly the time that we would expect cases to be occurring after the July 4th weekend," said Dr. Bill Powderly. He is the co-director of the infectious-disease division at Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. July 4th – or Independence Day -- is a major American holiday.
比尔·波德利博士表示：“我们正在考察7月4日这个周末后发生病例的确切时间，这当然不是巧合。”他是密苏里州圣路易斯市的华盛顿大学医学院感染科的联合主任。7月4日的独立日是美国的一个重要节日。
At the same time, parts of the country are dealing with strong anti-vaccine beliefs. And the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, which was first discovered in India, is making an ever-larger share of infections in the United States.
与此同时，美国部分地区正在应对强烈的反疫苗理念。而在印度首次发现的具有高度传染性的新冠病毒德尔塔变体在美国的感染人数中所占比例越来越大。
Nationally, 55.6 percent of all Americans have received at least one COVID-19 shot, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
美国疾控与预防中心表示，全美范围内有55.6%的美国人至少接种了一剂新冠肺炎疫苗。
Even with the latest increases, case numbers in the U.S. are still much lower than they were earlier this year. They reached a high of 250,000 cases a day in January.
即使最近有所增长，美国确诊人数也远远低于今年年初。今年一月份单日确诊人数达到了25万的高位。
The number of people dying from COVID-19 each day is also much lower than six months ago. The country is now reporting fewer than 260 deaths per day on average. Over the winter, there were more than 3,400 COVID-related deaths being reported each day. The large drop shows how effectively the vaccine can prevent serious illness and death in those who become infected.
新冠肺炎单日死亡人数也远低于6个月之前。美国现在日均报告死亡人数不到260人。去年冬天，每天有超过3400例与新冠肺炎相关的死亡报告。数据大幅下降表明疫苗可以有效预防感染者的重症和死亡。
Still, health officials in places such as Los Angeles County in California and St. Louis, Missouri, are asking even vaccinated people to return to wearing face coverings in public. Officials in Chicago, Illinois, announced Tuesday that unvaccinated visitors from Missouri and Arkansas must either quarantine for 10 days or get a test showing they do not have COVID-19.
尽管如此，加州洛杉矶市和密苏里州圣路易斯市等地的卫生官员甚至要求接种过疫苗的人员恢复在公共场合佩戴口罩。伊利诺伊州芝加哥市官员周二宣布，来自密苏里州和阿肯色州的未接种疫苗游客必须隔离10天，或者做检测证明他们没有感染新冠肺炎。
The state of Mississippi has the lowest vaccination rate in the country. The state's Health Department began blocking posts about COVID-19 on its Facebook page because of a "rise of misinformation" about the virus and the vaccine.
密西西比州的疫苗接种率是全美国最低的。由于有关该病毒和疫苗的错误信息增多，该州卫生部开始在其Facebook页面上屏蔽有关新冠肺炎的帖子。
Mississippi officials are also asking people 65 and older, and those with serious health problems, to stay away from large indoor gatherings. The request comes after a 150-percent rise in hospitalizations over the past three weeks.
密西西比州官员还要求65岁及以上人员，以及存在严重健康问题的人员远离大型室内聚集。该要求是在过去3周住院人数增长150%之后提出的。
Louisiana also has one of the nation's lowest vaccination rates. Officials in the city of New Orleans said Tuesday they are likely to extend until autumn the restrictions in place to fight the virus. They say those planning to attend large indoor gatherings must be vaccinated or have proof they are not infected. State health officials said cases of the coronavirus are increasing, largely among non-vaccinated people.
路易斯安那州也是美国疫苗接种率最低的州之一。新奥尔良市官员周二表示，他们可能会将针对该病毒的限制措施延长至秋季。他们表示，计划参加大型室内聚集的人员必须接种疫苗或是拿出证明他们没被感染的证据。州卫生官员表示，新冠病毒病例开始增长，主要是在未接种疫苗的人群中。
In many states, however, officials are not willing to accept the possibility that restrictions may be needed again, even if case numbers are rising.
然而很多州即使病例数开始增长，有关官员也不愿意接受可能需要再次出台限制政策的可能性。
"Alabama is OPEN for business. Vaccines are readily available, and I encourage folks to get one," said the state's Republican Governor Kay Ivey. "The state of emergency and health orders have expired. We are moving forward."
阿拉巴马州共和党州长凯·伊维表示：“阿拉巴马州已经开放营业。疫苗都是现成的，我鼓励人们打个疫苗。紧急状态和卫生命令已经过期。我们正在向前迈进。”
Dr. James Lawler is a leader of the Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He said bringing back face coverings and limiting gatherings would help. But he agreed that most of the places seeing higher rates of the virus "are exactly the areas of the country that don't want to do any of those things."
詹姆斯·劳勒博士是位于奥马哈市的内布拉斯加大学全球卫生安全中心的负责人。他表示，戴回口罩和限制聚集会有所帮助。但是他认同，大多数感染率较高的地方“都是美国不愿意恢复这类防疫措施的地区。”
He said that areas around the world where the delta variant has become the most common form of the virus have reported hospitals full of younger adults.
他说，在德尔塔变体已经成为新冠病毒最常见形式的世界各个地区都报告称，医院里挤满了年轻人。
"That's what the critical care doctors describe and that's what's coming to the U.S.," Lawler said.
劳勒表示：“这是重症监护室医生的所说的，也是美国未来要面临的状况。”
He added, "I think people have no clue what's about to hit us."
他还表示：“我认为人们对我们即将遭遇的状况一无所知。”
While the U.S. government has seen success in vaccinating older Americans, young adults have shown less urgency to get the shots.
虽然美国政府在为老年人接种方面取得了成功，但年轻人对接种疫苗的紧迫感却有所降低。
I'm Susan Shand.
我是苏珊·尚德。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)