贫困国家放松新冠病毒限制可能面临更大风险

    Some wealthier Western nations have begun easing restrictions to guard against the new coronavirus. Many developing countries want to ease their coronavirus restrictions, but they cannot afford to make a mistake.
    一些发达国家已经开始放宽预防新冠病毒的限制措施。许多发展中国家想要放宽对新冠病毒的限制,但是他们承担不起犯错的责任。

    Developing countries often lack the necessary tools, such as a strong economy, good hospitals and the ability to do a lot of testing. They need these things to overcome the pandemic.
    发展中国家通常缺乏必要的工具,例如强劲的经济、良好的医院和进行大量检测的能力。他们需要这些工具来克服大流行。

    Across Europe, people have been debating how best to ease the restrictions. Yet such a debate seems unthinkable in countries affected by conflict, corruption or poverty.
    在整个欧洲,人们一直在争论如何更好地放宽限制。然而在受冲突、腐败或贫困影响的国家,这样的辩论似乎是不可想象的。

    Lebanon, for example, is a small country with a huge amount of debt. It has a weak health care system and an angry population.
    以黎巴嫩为例,这是一个负债累累的小国家。该国卫生保健系统薄弱,人口众多。

    A month of coronavirus restrictions has sent tens of thousands more Lebanese into poverty. The government is under pressure to ease some of the restrictions. Medical supplies are so limited, however, that doctors are calling for the measures to stay in place.
    为期一个月的新冠病毒限制措施让成千上万名黎巴嫩人陷入了贫困。该国政府承受着放松某些限制的压力。但是医疗用品非常有限,医生们呼吁继续维持限制措施。

    Lebanon was one of the first countries in the Middle East to close schools and restaurants because of the virus. On March 16, Lebanon entered a total lockdown until April 26. Its prime minister asked for patience as the country faced an "enormous economic price."
    黎巴嫩是中东地区最早因为新冠病毒关闭学校和餐馆的国家之一。3月16日,黎巴嫩进入全面封锁直至4月26日。由于该国面临“巨大的经济代价”,其总理要求人们忍耐。

    The International Monetary Fund reported last week that Lebanon's economy may shrink by as much as 12 percent in 2020. That would be the largest economic downturn in the Middle East.
    国际货币基金组织上周报告称,2020年黎巴嫩经济可能会萎缩高达12%。这将是中东地区最严重的经济衰退。

    The situation is similar in many other developing countries: Easing lockdowns could increase infections and set off a serious medical crisis. At the same time, keeping restrictions in place risks more economic losses and social unrest.
    许多其它发展中国家的情况也类似。放宽封锁可能会增加感染并引发严重的医疗危机。另一方面,维持限制要冒造成更大经济损失和社会动荡的风险。

    The inability to test and a government unwilling to be truthful could lead to bad decisions, warns Rabah Arezki. He is chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank.
    拉巴·阿雷兹基警告称,没有检测能力以及政府不愿开诚布公可能会导致错误决定。他是世界银行中东和北非地区的首席经济学家。

    Arezki worries that easing restrictions too early could do "more harm than good" because there is a lack of clear information, he explained.
    由于缺乏明确的信息,阿雷兹基担心过早放宽限制可能会弊大于利。

    Even wealthier nations are also worried.
    甚至发达国家也感到担忧。

    Germany has Europe's largest economy. Last week, German officials announced a small easing of restrictions, which includes reopening most stores. But Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that restarting the economy too quickly could lead to problems with the health care system.
    德国是欧洲最大经济体。上周,德国官员宣布少量放松限制,其中包括重新开放大部分商店。但是德国总理默克尔警告说,过快重启经济可能会导致医疗保健系统出现问题。

    Western nations are facing severe economic problems, but their effects are eased by large government financial aid programs. For example, the United States has a $2.2 trillion program. The EU countries have agreed on a $550 billion program.
    西方国家正面临严峻的经济问题,但是大型政府财政援助计划减轻了它们的影响。例如,美国出台了一项2.2万亿美元的计划。欧盟国家已经就一项5500亿美元的计划达成一致。

    The international community is offering help to poorer nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is prepared to lend $1 trillion to poor nations. The world's richest countries agreed to temporarily suspend poor nations' debts, mainly in Africa.
    国际社会正在给贫困国家提供帮助。国际货币基金组织称其准备向贫困国家提供1万亿美元贷款。世界上最富有国家同意暂时冻结贫困国家的债务,这些国家主要在非洲。

    Pakistan's prime minister has appealed to wealthy countries and international organizations to simply forgive the debts of poorer countries. The IMF gave Pakistan $1.5 billion in emergency financing to help with the pandemic.
    巴基斯坦总理已经呼吁发达国家和国际组织免除贫困国家的债务。国际货币基金组织给巴基斯坦提供了15亿美元的紧急资金帮助应对这次大流行。

    Some developing nations have decided they can no longer wait and are lifting restrictions for some industries. In Malaysia, the government permitted its semiconductor and other major industries to continue operating. Colombia permitted coal producer Drummond to restart part of its operations on April 9.
    一些发展中国家已经决定不再等待,并取消了某些行业的限制。在马来西亚,政府允许其半导体和其它主要行业继续经营。哥伦比亚允许煤炭生产商德拉蒙德公司于4月9日部分恢复运营。

    In Yemen, Libya and Syria, years of conflict have led to humanitarian disasters. In all three countries, the level of coronavirus outbreak is unknown. There is a lack of testing, medical supplies and trained health care workers.
    在也门、利比亚和叙利亚,多年的冲突导致了人道主义灾难。在这三个国家,新冠病毒的爆发水平均不得而知。这些国家缺乏检测、医疗用品和训练有素的医护人员。

    I'm Jill Robbins.
    我是吉尔·罗宾斯。(51VOA.COM原创翻译,禁止转载,违者必究!)