On April 8, Wuhan is open to the outside world again. Although people are still reeling from the loss of loved ones and cautious against Covid-19, life must go on and there’s plenty to look forward to.
4月8日，武漢正式解除封城。儘管許多人仍沉浸在失去親人的悲痛之中，儘管對新冠病毒還要保持警惕，但生活必須繼續，未來更有盼頭。
76 days ago, on January 23, the city was in total despair. Although only 571 cases of infection had been reported, a lockdown was deemed imperative. The decision to seal off a city of 11 million, the first time in human history, took only a few days.
76天前的1月23日，整座城市陷入絕望。儘管僅通報了571例確診病例，但封城已經迫在眉睫。封鎖一座1100萬人口的城市史無前例，而決策只用了幾天時間。
The shock added to the confusion and fear gripping the city. Doctors and nurses, for instance, suddenly faced difficulties going to work, as public transport came to a sudden halt. But the locals proved themselves heroic. They sprang into action to help themselves. Medical staff worked overtime, braving the initial lack of protective gear. Community workers did their duty despite some frustration in the neighborhood.
震驚加劇了已經籠罩這座城市的困惑和恐懼，比如醫生和護士突然面臨通勤困難，因為公共交通戛然而止。但當地人用行動證明自己是真正的英雄，他們擼起袖子展開自救，醫務人員加班加點，在早期缺乏防護裝備的情況下奮勇抗疫。社區工作者堅守崗位，儘管一些居民略顯沮喪。
But the great majority of people cooperated with authorities, trusting this was for their own good. Fortunately, they were not alone.
絕大多數人都配合封城舉措，相信這樣做是為了自己好。所幸他們並不孤單。
The entire country proved to be the formidable backbone that the city could rely on. And every means was pursued to get ahead of the virus. Some 42,000 medics arrived from around the country in Wuhan and neighboring cities. By early March, 2.2 million tons of supplies and 17,000 ventilators had been dispatched to the region. Wuhan became the center of attention in China. People cheered for the city, from home and abroad. Sadly, the city was also stigmatized because of this disease, adding insult to injury.
整個國家成了武漢的堅強後盾，竭盡全力阻擊病毒。全國各地約有4.2萬名醫務人員馳援武漢和周邊城市。截至3月初，共計220萬噸物資和17000臺呼吸機被髮往該地區。武漢成為全國人民關注的焦點，海內外民眾都為武漢加油鼓勁。可悲的是，這座城市也因為疫情被汙名化。這種做法無異於落井下石。
At first, even international medical experts had bias against the lockdown, but it turned out to be the right thing. In the absence of treatment or vaccine, the age-old practice of strict quarantine proved effective. Within 55 days, the number of new cases in Wuhan dropped to zero. But the price was high. By April 6, Wuhan had reported 50,008 confirmed cases and 2,571 deaths. According to a study in Science magazine, China’s aggressive response cut the incidence by 96% than expected. Wuhan bought the world time and set a model for cities, even countries around the world.
起初，就連國際醫學專家也對封城持有偏見，但事實證明這個決定是對的。在缺乏特效療法和疫苗的情況下，以嚴格隔離為核心的傳統防疫手段行之有效55天后，武漢的新增確診病例數降至零，但代價也是慘重的。截至4月6日，武漢共通報了50008個確診病例和2571個死亡病例。《科學》雜誌的一項研究顯示，中國大膽的應對使發病率比預期降低了96%。武漢為全世界爭取了時間，也為世界各城市甚至國家設立了一種抗疫模式。
3Unfortunately, that time was squandered by many. When the lockdown was in full swing, many thought it was a faraway problem. Many media even criticized the measure, focusing on the liberties that were restricted, instead of the lives that were being saved.
不幸的是，贏得的時間被很多地方浪費了。當武漢進入封城時，許多人都覺得事不關己。許多媒體甚至批評該措施，大談個人自由如何受到限制，而不是生命得以挽救。Even as death tolls started to skyrocket in some parts of the world, there were still debates on whether the cure was worse than the problem!
甚至在部分國家死亡人數開始飆升時，還有人在爭論這種做法是否是飲鴆止渴。
And then of course there are the claims that China’s misinformation deceived the world. When a city of 11 million is locked down, is that not enough to alarm people? When over one hundred were dying on a daily basis, shouldn’t that raise some red flags? Some people are pathologically suspicious of China’s data, claiming there must have been more cases. If there was this suspicion, wasn’t that enough reason to stock up and prepare?
然後又出現了中國發布假消息誤導世界的說法，難道一個1100萬人口的城市被封鎖還不足以引起人們警覺嗎？當每日死亡人數以一百多攀升時，形勢還不應該讓人警醒嗎？有些人對中國發布的數據總是帶著病態的懷疑，聲稱實際病例數一定更多。如果他們存在這種懷疑，那還不趕緊加強物資儲備，做好準備。
According to the Washington Post, only 70 days after the U.S. received initial warning of the virus on January 3, did the Trump administration recognize it was not a distant threat. He said at his March 31 news conference, “it’s a matter of life and death.” But by then, the death toll in the U.S. had already reached 3,800.
據《華盛頓郵報》報道，美國在1月3日收到關於病毒的最初通報70天后，特朗普政府才意識到問題已經找上門。他在3月31日的新聞發佈會上說“這事關生死”。但當時，美國的死亡人數已經達到3800。
In mid-March, almost two months after Wuhan was locked down, the UK government was still debating between delay or containment? Richard Horton, Chief Editor of the respected medical publication The Lancet, pointed out the information that came from China at the end of January was “absolutely clear”. Yet by April 5, two and half months after Wuhan came into lockdown, British medical workers were still wearing garbage bags for protection.
3月中旬，在武漢封城近兩個月後，英國政府仍在辯論到底是該延緩疫情還是遏制疫情。國際知名醫學期刊《柳葉刀》主編理查德·霍頓指出，1月底來自中國的信息“絕對清晰”，然而直到4月5日，武漢封城兩個半月後，英國的醫護人員還在穿垃圾袋進行防護。
April 8 will be a historic date for the people of Wuhan and China, to mark a battle hard fought and hard won. Never again should such a lockdown be necessary. Lessons still need to be learned as to what more could have been done initially. Right now, the focus is resetting life while keeping the virus in check. Meanwhile, Wuhan can share its experience with other countries to score a global victory against the virus. Enough lives have been lost; enough time has been wasted. Let Wuhan’s sacrifice not be in vain.
4月8日對於武漢和全中國人民而言是值得銘記的一天，紀念一場艱苦卓絕的戰役和來之不易的成果，但願永遠不再需要封城。我們仍要反思疫情最初是否可以做得更多。當下重點是在防控病毒的同時重啟生活，同時武漢可以與其他國家分享經驗，以爭取全球抗疫勝利。已有太多生命隕落，太多的時間被浪費，不要讓武漢的眼淚白流。
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