數據顯示，美國14州半數新冠死亡病例來自養老院
養老院成爲美國新冠肺炎疫情暴發的“震中”地帶，無助的老年人已是美國政府抗疫不力的最大受害羣體。據統計，在美國14個州，養老院新冠肺炎死亡病例竟已達全州死亡病例總數的一半以上。
Privately compiled data shows Covid-19 deaths of nursing home residents now account for more than half of all fatalities in 14 states, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Only 33 states report nursing home-related deaths.
根據凱撒家庭基金會的數據，養老院老人新冠肺炎死亡數如今在美國14個州都佔到了全州死亡病例的一半以上。只有33個州報告了養老院新冠肺炎死亡病例。
“I was on a phone call last week, where four or five patients came into our hospital just in one day from nursing homes,” said infectious Disease specialist Dr Sunil Parikh, of Yale School of Public Health in Connecticut. “It’s just a staggering number day to day.”
康涅狄格州耶魯大學公共衛生學院的傳染病專家蘇尼爾·帕裏克博士說：“上週我接到了電話，一天之內就有四五位病人從養老院轉到我們醫院，每天的數字都很驚人。”
Despite early warnings that nursing homes were vulnerable to Covid-19, because of group living settings and the age of residents, the federal government is only beginning to gather national data.
儘管早前就有警告稱，由於羣體居住環境和年齡問題，養老院的老人很容易感染新冠肺炎，但聯邦政府纔剛剛開始收集全國的數據。
In Connecticut, 194 of 216 nursing homes have had at least one Covid-19 case. Nearly half the Covid-19 deaths in the state have been of nursing home residents. The proportion is higher elsewhere. In New Hampshire, 72% of deaths have been nursing home residents.
在康涅狄格州，216家養老院中有194家至少有一例新冠肺炎確診病例。該州近半數的新冠肺炎死亡病例是養老院的老人。其他地方的比例更高。在新罕布什爾州，72%的新冠肺炎死亡患者是養老院的老人。
Parikh said limited testing and a lack of personal protective equipment such as masks hampered efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 in care homes. Due to limited testing capacity, most state nursing homes are still only able to test residents with symptoms, even though the disease is known to spread asymptomatically.
帕裏克說，檢測數量有限、口罩等個人防護設備缺乏，這些都阻礙了在養老院遏制新冠肺炎傳播的工作。由於檢測能力有限，儘管人們知道新冠肺炎可以無症狀傳播，大多數州的養老院仍然只能對有症狀的老人進行檢測。
asymptomatically[,esɪmptə'mætɪkli]：adv.無症狀地
“What I would like to see is the ability to test the entire nursing homes,” Parikh said. “This symptomatic approach is just not cutting it. Many states, including Connecticut, are starting to move in that direction … but I hope it becomes a national effort.”
帕裏克說：“我希望看到的是可以對所有養老院的老人進行檢測。這種檢測出現症狀者的方法並不能阻斷傳播。包括康涅狄格在內的許多州正開始朝這個方向努力，但我希望這能成爲一項全國性的做法。”
Nursing homes have been closed to the public for weeks but a bleak picture has nonetheless emerged. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy called in 120 members of the state national guard to help long-term care facilities, after 17 bodies piled up in one nursing home.
養老院已經對公衆關閉了數週，但前景依然黯淡。新澤西州州長菲爾·墨菲召集了120名州國民警衛隊成員，幫助長期護理機構。此前，一家養老院裏曾堆放着17具屍體。
In Maine, a 72-year-old woman who went into a home to recover from surgery died just a few months later.
在緬因州，一名72歲的婦女手術後到一家養老院康復，幾個月後死亡。
“I feel like I failed my mom because I put her in the wrong nursing home,” the woman’s daughter, Andrea Donovan, told the Bangor Daily News. “This facility is responsible for so much sadness for this family for not protecting their residents.”
她的女兒安德里亞·多諾萬在接受《班戈日報》採訪時說：“我覺得我辜負了母親，因爲我不該把她送到這家養老院。這家養老院沒有保護好老人們，應該爲給我們的家庭造成的傷痛負責。”
Fifteen states have moved to shield nursing homes from lawsuits, according to Modern Healthcare.
根據《現代醫療保健》，15個州已經採取行動保護養老院免受訴訟。
Nursing home residents were among the first known cases of Covid-19 in the US. In mid-February in suburban Kirkland, Washington, 80 of 130 residents in one facility were sickened by an unknown respiratory illness, later identified as Covid-19.
美國第一批已知的部分新冠確診病例就出現在養老院。2月中旬，在華盛頓州柯克蘭的郊區，一家養老院內130名老人中有80人感染了一種未知的呼吸道疾病，之後被確診爲新冠肺炎。
Statistics from Kirkland now appear to tell the national story. Of 129 staff members, visitors and residents who got sick, all but one of the 22 who died were older residents, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
來自柯克蘭的統計數字現在似乎說明了美國的情況。根據美國疾病控制與預防中心的數據，在129名員工、到訪者和生病的老人中，22名死者中除了一人以外，其他都是年齡較大的老人。
By early March, most Covid-19 deaths in the US could still be traced to Kirkland.
截至3月初，美國大多數新冠肺炎死亡病例仍可追溯至柯克蘭。
“One thing stands out as the virus spreads throughout the United States: nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are ground zero,” wrote Dr Tom Frieden, the former head of the CDC, for cnn on 8 March.
3月8日，美國疾病控制與預防中心前負責人湯姆·弗裏登博士在接受美國有限電視新聞網採訪時寫道：“隨着病毒在美國的傳播，有一件事格外引人注目：養老院和其他長期護理機構是暴發中心。”
That day, Frieden called on federal authorities to ban visitors from nursing homes. US authorities announced new measures to protect residents several days later.
當天，弗裏登呼籲聯邦當局禁止人們到訪養老院。幾天後，美國當局宣佈了保護養老院老人的新措施。
The CDC investigation into Kirkland was released on 18 March. It contained another warning: “Substantial morbidity and mortality might be averted if all long-term care facilities take steps now to prevent exposure of their residents to Covid-19.”
美國疾病控制與預防中心對柯克蘭的調查結果於3月18日公佈。報告中還提出了另一個警告：“如果所有長期護理機構現在都採取措施，防止老人感染新冠肺炎，就可能避免大量老人發病和死亡。”
It was not until 19 April that the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services promised to track all deaths in nursing homes. That requirement went into effect this Friday, but there is still a two-week grace period for compliance. During the period from 19 April to 8 May, 13,000 people died, according to an NBC News analysis.
直到4月19日，醫療保險和醫療補助服務中心的負責人才承諾跟蹤養老院裏的所有死亡病例。這一要求於上週五（5月8日）生效，但仍有兩週的寬限期。根據美國全國廣播公司新聞頻道的分析，在4月19日至5月8日期間，有1.3萬人死於新冠肺炎。
“This is really decimating state after state,” said Parikh. “We have to have a very rapid shift [of focus] to the nursing homes, the veteran homes … Covid will be with us for many months.”
帕裏克說：“這真是一個州接一個州的大批死亡。我們必須非常迅速地把注意力轉移到養老院和老年護理機構。新冠肺炎疫情還將持續好幾個月。”
decimate [ˈdesɪmeɪt]：v.大批殺害，大量毀滅
