VOA即美國之音（The Voice of America，簡稱VOA）。美國之音是一家提供45種語言服務的動態的國際多媒體廣播電臺。
專家擔心美國放鬆限制會導致疫情反彈
By Hai Do
17 September 2020
State and local officials around the United States have again started rolling back social-distancing rules. Officials in some areas had lifted similar restrictions in the past, but reordered them again when coronavirus infections increased.
美國各州和地方官員再次開始收回社交隔離規定。某些地區的官員之前取消了類似限制，但是當新冠病毒感染增加時又重新出臺了限制。
While some Americans welcome the move, health experts warn that it will, again, increase infections, illnesses and deaths.
儘管一些美國人歡迎此舉，但是健康專家警告說，這將再次增加感染、患病和死亡。
In the state of Mississippi, officials are now permitting restaurants to expand their visitor limit to 75 percent. New Jersey decided to reopen exercise centers and permit indoor dining with limited capacity. Organized sports returned in Michigan and parts of Florida are now considering an end to mask requirements.
在密西西比州，官員們現在允許餐館將接待人數限制擴大到75%。新澤西州決定在限制接待量的情況下，重新開放健身中心並允許在室內用餐。密西根州和佛羅裡達州部分地區恢復了有組織的體育活動，並考慮取消戴口罩的要求。
Bars can reopen in some parts of Florida at 50 percent capacity with some safety measures in place. But Florida's three biggest areas — Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach — are keeping bars closed because of high case numbers.
如果採取一些安全措施，佛羅裡達州部分地區的酒吧可以按50%的接待量重新開放。但是佛羅裡達州的邁阿密-戴德縣、布勞沃德縣和棕櫚灘縣這3個最大的地區由於感染病例眾多而繼續維持酒吧歇業。
Allie Preston and her husband Zach visited The Leon Pub in Florida's capital, Tallahassee. "We've been cooped up for a while. It was nice to have normalcy," Allie told The Associated Press.
艾莉·普雷斯頓和她的丈夫扎克前往了佛羅裡達州首府塔拉哈西市的萊昂酒吧。艾莉對美聯社表示：「我們被封閉了一段時間，生活恢復正常太好了。」
In other areas, American football fans gathered to cheer on their team without face coverings.
在其它地區，美式足球球迷聚在一起為他們喜歡的球隊加油，而無需佩戴口罩。
Supporters of President Donald Trump attended an indoor campaign event over the weekend outside Las Vegas, Nevada. The event violated a rule set by the state's governor that limits indoor and outdoor gatherings to 50 people. While officials urged face masks, many attendees did not wear them.
川普總統的支持者上周末在內華達州拉斯維加斯郊外參加了一場室內競選活動。該活動違反了該州州長制定的將室內外聚集人數限制為50人的規定。雖然有關官員督促佩戴口罩，但是許多與會者都沒有佩戴。
On Wednesday, the Big Ten, a major college conference, announced it will play football games this season. The move followed decisions by the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast conferences to also hold games. Just five weeks ago, the Big Ten said it would not play sports in autumn because of concerns over player safety. The latest decision came even though many students are still not permitted to return to classes in person.
周三，美國「十大盟校」宣布本賽季將會舉辦足球比賽。在此之前，「大十二聯盟」和「大西洋海岸聯盟」也決定舉辦比賽。就在5個星期前「十大盟校」還表示，出於對球員安全的擔心不會在秋季舉行比賽。這一最新決定最終還是出臺了，即使很多學生仍然不被允許返校複課。
State officials are not the only ones easing social distancing restrictions. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Roman Catholic archbishop said he will no longer excuse people from in-person worship unless they are sick or are caring for someone who is. Coronavirus infections, however, are rising in Wisconsin.
不光是各州官員在放鬆社交距離限制。羅馬天主教的大主教在威斯康辛州密爾沃基市表示，除非感染或是正在照顧感染者，否則他將不再允許人們不到現場做禮拜。然而威斯康辛州的新冠病例正在增長。
In many states, the number of infections is still too high to permit high-risk activities, such as going to bars, exercise centers, theaters and sporting events. Virus risks are also high for people taking part in close contact sports or eating inside restaurants.
許多州感染量仍然很大，無法批准高風險活動，例如去酒吧、健身房、劇院或是看體育比賽。對於參加近距離接觸運動或是在餐廳內就餐的人們來說，病毒感染的風險也很高。
In Framingham, Massachusetts, officials said they have started issuing $500 fines to property owners who violate the rules on gatherings and face coverings.
在麻薩諸塞州弗雷明翰市，有關官員表示，他們已經開始對違反聚會和口罩規定的業主處以500美元的罰款。
"Folks are becoming very cavalier about the pandemic," said Mark Rupp, professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. This week, Nebraska's governor ended nearly all of his state's restrictions, even with new coronavirus cases on the rise.
內布拉斯加州大學醫學中心教授兼傳染病學系主任馬克·魯普表示：「人們對大流行的態度變得非常漫不經心。」本周，內布拉斯加州州長几乎取消了該州所有限制，哪怕新冠病例人數還在增長。
"I think it is setting us up for further transmission and more people getting ill and, unfortunately, more people dying," Rupp said.
魯普表示：「我認為這會讓我們進一步傳播，使更多人感染，不幸的是，還會有更多人死亡。"
By the third week of September, Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center reported that more than 6.6 million people in the U.S. have been infected with COVID-19. The center also reported more than 196,000 deaths. Those numbers are by far the highest totals of any country.
截至9月的第三周，約翰霍普金斯大學新冠病毒資源中心報告了有超過660萬美國人感染新冠肺炎。該中心還報告了有超過19.6萬人死亡。這些數字迄今為止是所有國家中最高的。
The number of infections, however, has fallen from a daily average of 67,000 in late July to about 36,000. And deaths are running at about 750 a day, down from over 2,200 in late April.
但是，感染數量已經從7月下旬的每日平均6.7萬人下降到了大約3.6萬人。每天的死亡人數約為750人，低於4月底的2200人。
Public health experts noted that it is safe to hold some activities in communities where there are low levels of infection.
公共衛生專家指出，在低感染社區舉行某些活動是安全的。
The nation's top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, praised officials in Vermont for their efforts to safely reopen the state. In a video appearance with the state's governor, Fauci said the state's face mask rules and other safety measures had led to success in fighting the virus.
美國最高傳染病專家安東尼·福奇讚揚了佛蒙特州官員為該州重新安全開放所做的努力。福奇在跟該州州長一起露面的視頻中表示，該州的口罩規定和其它安全措施已經成功抵抗了該病毒。
"Please, you've done so well, don't let your guard down," Fauci said. "Because if we do, we are going to see surges that are going to put us back to where we were months ago."
福奇表示：「做得很棒，但請您不要放鬆警惕。因為如果這樣做，我們就會看到感染人數激增，讓我們一夜回到解放前。」
I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是喬納森·埃文斯。
capacity - n. the ability to hold or contain people
mask - n. covering used to cover your mouth
bar - n. a place where alcoholic drinks are served
coop up - phrasal verb, to keep (a person or animal) inside a small space or building for a long time
cavalier - adj. showing no concern for something that is important or serious
pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people throughout the world
transmission - n. the act or process by which something is spread or passed from one person to another
surge - n. a sudden or large increase
*內容來源51VOA.COM原創翻譯，侵刪~