下面是意大利人寫給世界的公開信：
I am writing to you from Bergamo, Italy, at the heart of the coronavirus crisis.
我在意大利的Bergamo 給大家寫信。是這次疫情的中心。
The news media in the US has not captured the severity of what is happening here. I am writing this post because each of you, today, not the government, not the school district, not the mayor, each individual citizen has the chance, today to take actions that will deter the Italian situation from becoming your own country’s reality.
美國新聞媒體的報導沒有全部體現出意大利疫情的嚴重性。我寫信給大家，是因為你們每一個人，不是政府，不是學區，不是市長，而是每一個公民，有機會從今天開始行動，才能不讓意大利的現狀變成你們國家的現實。
The only way to stop this virus is to limit contagion. And the only way to limit contagion is for millions of people to change their behavior today.
制止病毒唯一的方法是限制傳播，而限制傳播的唯一方法是成百上千萬的人改變他們的行為方式。
If you are in Europe or the US you are weeks away from where we are today in Italy.
如果你在歐洲或者美國，你們也許幾周之後就會像意大利一樣。
I can hear you now. “It’s just a flu. It only affects old people with preconditions”。
我能聽到你們說：這只是個流感，老人和有慢性病的人才有風險。
There are 2 reasons why Coronavirus has brought Italy to it’s knees. First it is a flu is devastating when people get really sick they needweeks of ICU – and, second, because of how fast and effectively it spreads. There is 2 week incubation period and many who have it never show symptoms.
這個肺炎有兩個原因讓意大利到了今天“跪倒”的地步。第一，這個流感可以讓一些人病得非常嚴重，需要好幾周的重症監護；第二，這個病毒傳播得又快又有效，而且帶病毒的人可以有兩週沒有症狀的傳染期，有些帶毒人可以一直沒有症狀。
When Prime Minister Conte announced last night that the entire country, 60 million people, would go on lock down, the line that struck me most was “there is no more time.” Because to be clear, this national lockdown, is a hail mary. What he means is that if the numbers of contagion do not start to go down, the system, Italy, will collapse.
昨天當意大利總理Conte 宣佈封國的時候，讓6000萬意大利人限制流動，他說的給我印象最深的一句話是“ 我們沒有時間了”。這是我們絕處逢生最後的孤注一擲。他是說如果我們的傳染源數量不能儘快開始減少，整個意大利就完了。
Why? Today the ICUs in Lombardy are at capacity – more than capacity. They have begun to put ICU units in the hallways. If the numbers do not go down, the growth rate of contagion tells us that there will be thousands of people who in a matter of a week? two weeks? who will need care. What will happen when there are 100, or a 1000 people who need the hospital and only a few ICU places left?
為什麼這麼說呢？因為今天在 Lombardy地區的重症監護已經沒有病房了。已經超載了。醫院開始把重症單元放到樓道里。如果傳染源數量不減少，一兩週之內就會有上千的病人需要就診。如果有100人或者1000人等著進入重症監護但又沒有床位，那該怎麼辦？
On Monday a doctor wrote in the paper that they have begun to have to decide who lives and who dies when the patients show up in the emergency room, like what is done in war. This will only get worse.
星期一的時候，有個醫生寫道，他們已經像在戰場一樣，決定先救誰，決定誰生誰死。這種狀況會越來越糟。
There are a finite number of doctors, nurses,medical staff and they are getting the virus. They have also been working non-stop, non-stop for days and days. What happens when the doctors, nurses and medical staff are simply not able to care for the patients, when they are not there?
醫護人員的數量是有限的，也出現了醫護人員的感染。這些天他們也一直日夜不停地工作。如果醫護人員耗盡力氣，無暇再照顧病人怎麼辦？
And finally for those who say that this is just something that happens to old people, starting yesterday the hospitals are reporting that younger and younger patients – 40, 45, 18, are coming in for treatment.
很多人說這個病毒只害老人，從昨天開始，醫院裡報告說病人越來越年輕了，40歲，45歲，18歲的也來就醫。
You have a chance to make a difference and stop the spread in your country. Push for the entire office to work at home today, cancel birthday parties, and other gatherings, stay home as much as you can.
你們還有機會阻止你們國家內的傳染。在家工作，取消聚會，儘量多地呆在家裡吧。
If you have a fever, any fever, stay home. Push for school closures, now. Anything you can do to stop the spread, because it is spreading in your communities – there is a two week incubation period – and if you do these things now you can buy your medical system time.
如果你有發燒，一定待在家裡。呼籲學校關門，做一切阻止病毒傳播的事情。因為病毒已經在你們社區傳播了，並且有2周的潛伏期。如果現在開始盡一切力量阻止傳播，可以給你們的醫療系統更多的準備時間。
And for those who say it is not possible to close the schools, and do all these other things, locking down Italy was beyond anyone’s imagination a week ago.
如果你們說怎麼可能關學校或者不出門呢，那你想想，一週以前，誰會想到整個意大利會封國。
Soon you will not have a choice, so do what you can now.
很快你們就沒有選擇了。所以現在趕快行動。
Please share。
請轉發給你的朋友和家人。
