截至4月30日，美國確診病例已超過100萬例，死亡病例60,057人，均超過其他國家。面對這些令人沮喪的數字，特朗普政府的言論佔據了媒體的頭條：其政府指責中國、歐盟和世界衛生組織在遏制疾病傳播方面的不作為。對照之前美國媒體的報道，關於疫情的這10個問題，美國政府有責任有義務回答清楚，給全世界一個交代。
The U.S. has now more than one million confirmed cases and 60,057 deaths by April 30, both topping the other countries. In the face of the frustrating number, the Trump administration occupied the media coverage for its blame on China, the European Union, and the WHO, and also its inaction in containing the disease spread within its territory. Based on U.S. media reports, here are 10 conflicting things in the U.S. government's handling of the pandemic.
1. “禽流感病毒改造”的實驗去年突然重啟，之後無聲無息，為什麼？
去年2月，據美國《科學》雜誌網站披露，美國政府機構已“悄悄”批准曾引發巨大爭議的禽流感病毒改造實驗，這類被認為“危險”的實驗在被禁多年後將很快重啟。相關實驗可將H5N1禽流感病毒改造得易於在哺乳動物間傳播，被認為可能帶來人與人之間傳播風險。
然而，對於政府為什麼會重新批准這個實驗，或者這個實驗有什麼進展，目前仍然沒有明確的答案。
The Science reported on February 8, 2019 that U.S. authorities had quietly approved an avian influenza virus modification experiment, which was on hold for more than four years. The research, aiming to transform the H5N1 virus to be more capable of infecting mammals, was controversial and considered extremely dangerous. It's believed that the modification may increase the risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus.
However, there are still no clear answers from the government about why it reapproved the experiment or any progress about the experiment.
2. 美軍生物實驗室一度關閉停產，真相是什麼？
日前，據“全球生物防禦”（globalbiodefence）網站報道，位於馬里蘭州德特里克堡的美國陸軍傳染病醫學研究所（USAMRIID）已經全面恢復運行。去年7月，美國疾病控制與預防中心（CDC）正式向位於馬里蘭州德特里克堡的美國陸軍傳染病醫學研究所（USAMRIID）發出“停產令”，要求其停止進行“特定生物製劑與毒素”研究。今年3月，白宮請願網站出現一道特殊的請願帖，要求美國政府公佈去年7月“關閉”德特里克堡生物實驗室的真正原因。USAMRIID神秘“關閉”和迅速重啟引人關注。
設施的突然停止和恢復引起了人們的注意。到目前為止，還沒有來自當局的具體解釋。
USAMRIID, U.S. Army's primary institution and facility for biological research headquartered in Fort Detrick, Maryland, was ordered to halt the study of biological select agents and toxins in July, 2019.
In March, there was a petition on the White House website demanding the government tell why it ordered to shut down the institute.
And in April, the Global Biodefense reported that the facility has resumed full operation.
The sudden halt and resumption of the facility attract people's attention. There have been no specific explanations from the authority so far.
3. 去年傳染病模擬情景今年真實上演，真的只是巧合？
今年3月《紐約時報》披露的一份美國官方秘密文件顯示，2019年1月至8月16日，美國衛生與公共服務部（HHS）發起組織了一場代號為“赤色傳染”（Crimson Contagion）的推演，模擬了一群到中國旅遊的旅客引發的虛構疫情。2019年10月，美國多個機構又組織了一次代號為“Event 201”的全球流行病演習。演練中的模型假設一種名為CAPS的冠狀病毒，比SARS致命，又如感冒輕易傳播，卻未開發出疫苗，能迅速傳播促成全球大流行。
美國去年進行的傳染病演習的設定與現實的吻合度如此之高是否只是巧合？既然有演練在前，新冠疫情發生後美國為何沒有給予足夠的關注和重視、宣稱“尚在掌握之中”？
According to New York Times, from January to August, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ran a scenario called "Crimson Contagion" that simulated the fictional outbreak involving a group of tourists visiting China. They then became infected and flew to various countries, including the United States.
Last October, a pandemic exercise named Event 201 was hosted by some U.S. organizations. The drill simulated a fictional virus called CAPS, which causes more severe symptoms than SARS and transmits via the respiratory route like the common flu, had caused a pandemic. Like COVID-19, there is no vaccine for CAPS.
The Event 201 is so similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. Is this just a coincidence? Based on the experiences or lessons from the simulated pandemics, why did the U.S. have no preventive methods at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak?
4. 提前預測疫情大流行又無視警告情報，為什麼？
今年4月，據美國廣播公司（ABC）報道，有內部消息稱，早在2019年11月下旬，美國情報官員就曾多次向國防情報局、五角大樓和白宮警告，一場傳染病正在席捲中國武漢地區。美國國家醫學情報中心（NCMI）去年11月出具了一份詳細闡述病毒大流行情況的報告，也就是後來被確認的新型冠狀病毒肺炎“COVID-19”。有分析人士認為武漢疫情爆發可能會演變成一場災難性事件。據美國《華盛頓郵報》網站報道稱在年初的2個多月時間裡，特朗普獲得了美國情報機構發出的關於新冠病毒的密集警告。美國政府為何一直拖到3月13日才宣佈進入“國家緊急狀態”？
The American Broadcasting Corporation reported in April that in late November 2019, U.S. intelligence officials had warned the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon, and the White House that an infectious disease was sweeping through Wuhan, China.
Last November, the U.S. National Center for Medical Intelligence issued a report detailing the coronavirus pandemic, which was later identified as "COVID-19." Some analysts believed that the outbreak in Wuhan might have evolved into a catastrophic event.
And Washington Post reported that from January to February, U.S. President Donald Trump had received warnings from the U.S. intelligence agencies about the coronavirus.
However, it was not until March 13 that the U.S. government declared a national emergency, though there are so many early warnings.
5. 有多少流感患者感染的其實是新冠肺炎，能不能說清楚？
今年2月21日，日本朝日電視臺報道的“美國1.4萬名因流感致死的人中部分可能死於新冠肺炎”掀起熱議。美疾控中心2月底發佈的報告顯示，今冬流感季美國估計已有至少3200萬例流感。3月11日在美國眾議院，美國疾控中心主任羅伯特·雷德菲爾德（Robert Redfield）親口承認，在美國，確實有一些“流感”死者實際感染的可能是新冠肺炎。美國流感感染者中，到底有多少新冠病例？美國有沒有借流感來掩蓋新冠肺炎的情況？美國何時才能公開美國流感病毒樣本及基因序列信息，或者允許世衛組織或聯合國派遣專家採樣分析？
On February 21, Japanese Asahi Television reported that some of the 14,000 people reportedly killed by influenza in the U.S. might have died from coronavirus, which became a hot topic soon after.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported at the end of February, there have been at least 32 million Americans have come down with influenza since this year's flu season began in late September.
On March 11, Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. CDC, admitted that some in the U.S. who were previously thought to have died of the flu may have been infected with coronavirus.
Among the reported influenza deaths in the U.S., how many cases were infected with COVID-19? Did the U.S. government cover-up the spread of coronavirus with the flu? When will the U.S. government make public the samples of the U.S. influenza virus and its genome sequences, or allow experts from the WHO or the United Nations to do the sampling analysis?
6. 新冠病毒到底什麼時候在美國出現？社區傳播是否早已開始？
今年4月下旬，美國加利福尼亞州聖克拉拉縣政府公共衛生部門公佈的最新檢測報告顯示，早在2月6日當地就有人死於新冠肺炎，這比美國此前公佈的首例新冠死亡病例出現時間提前了20多天。據《洛杉磯時報》報道，聖克拉拉縣的衛生官員薩拉·科迪表示，這些新發現的死亡病例說明，當時“已經有相當程度的社區傳播”。聖克拉拉縣行政長官傑弗裡·史密斯表示，這表明新冠病毒早在1月、甚至更早就已經開始在加州傳播。加州州長紐瑟姆已宣佈將對去年12月以來疑似新冠死亡病例進行屍檢。新冠病毒到底什麼時候在美國出現？美國新冠疫情在社區的傳播是否早已開始？
A 57-year-old woman from Santa Clara County of California died from COVID-19 on February 6, some 20 days earlier than the date the U.S. announced its first death caused by the virus, according to a report released in late April by local health authorities.
"We presume that each of them represents community transmission and that there was some significant level of virus circulating in our community in early February," The Los Angeles Times quoted Santa Clara County health officer Sara Cody in a piece saying.
"This is the evidence that the coronavirus was circulating in California as early as January or even earlier," County Executive Officer Jeffrey V. Smith claimed.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has announced all counties in the state to review autopsies of suspected deaths from the coronavirus dating back to December 2019.
When did the novel coronavirus first emerge in the U.S.? Did community transmission of the coronavirus start before it was reported?
7. 全球首個啟動新冠疫苗人體試驗，這麼快是怎麼拿到毒株的？
據《華爾街日報》報道，美國國立衛生研究院(National Institutes of Health)3月16日稱，生物科技公司Moderna Inc. (MRNA)針對新型冠狀病毒的試驗性疫苗已開始首次人體測試。對於全球首次針對新型冠狀病毒的疫苗人體試驗在美國啟動一事，專家表示，美國這一針實在太快了，除非很早就開始進行試驗，更早的拿到了病毒株。美國疫苗人體試驗為何進行得如此之快？美國是什麼時候通過什麼方式獲得的毒株？
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. National Institutes of Health claimed on March 16 that Moderna Inc. has already started the first human testing experimental coronavirus vaccine against COVID-19.
Experts immediately raised questions about the speed of the vaccine development, saying that it would not be possible unless the U.S. had obtained the virus strains from very early on.
So how did the U.S. start the first human testing of the vaccine so soon? When and how did they get the virus strains?
8. 政府說疫情不嚴重，官員卻在狂拋股票，為什麼？
據《華盛頓郵報》報道，大約在新冠肺炎疫情引發美股暴跌之前一週，美國國會參議院情報委員會主席理查德·伯爾密集出售了自己和夫人持有的33只股票，估價在62.8萬美元到172萬美元之間。為什麼2月中旬美國政府對本國新冠肺炎疫情輕描淡寫，而參議院情報委員會的多位官員卻在那時拋售價值上百萬的股票？難道政客們竟然一邊利用內幕交易售賣股票，一邊對公眾隱瞞疫情？
According to The Washington Post, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr and his wife sold up to 1.7 million in 33 different stocks just one week before the market plunged.
Why did these officials at the Committee act so quickly while the government was continually understating the pandemic?
Why is the vital information kept confidential to the public while the government officials were taking advantage to practice insider-trading?
9. 不許美國專家學者隨意公開談論新冠病毒，是想幹什麼？
據美國《紐約時報》報道，在由副總統邁克·彭斯領導美國防疫工作之後，白宮於當地時間2月27日開始，加強了對新冠病毒信息“發聲”的控制。包括美國國立衛生研究院（NIH）過敏和傳染病研究所(NIAID)主任、美國疾控中心（CDC）頂級傳染病專家安東尼·福西（Anthony S. Fauci）在內的眾多科學家和政府衛生官員被要求：只有與美國副總統辦公室協調商議後，才能發聲明或公開露面談論新冠病毒的相關話題。為什麼號稱言論自由的美國不允許專家學者自由公開討論新冠病毒？是想隱瞞什麼還是在害怕什麼？
According to the New York Times, the White House began to tighten its grip on the official release of all coronavirus-related information on February 27, a day after Vice President Mike Pence was appointed to lead the country's epidemic prevention and control efforts.
Top scientists and health officials, including leading infectious disease expert Anthony S. Fauci, have been instructed not to make public statements regarding COVID-19 before having a consultation with Pence's office.
The placement of these restrictions certainly begs the question of why the United States, which claims free speech, would deny experts' rights to discuss the coronavirus in public and whether it intends to withhold facts. Is it because Washington is fearful of something?
10. 海外生物實驗室到底在做什麼研究，為什麼從不向外界透露？
據俄羅斯衛星通訊社日前報道，俄羅斯國家杜馬國際事務委員會副主席波克隆斯卡婭提議核查世界各地美國生物實驗室的合法性。前不久，俄羅斯外交部發言人就美國在前蘇聯國家建立生物實驗室表達關切。俄羅斯內政、外交和國防領域專家格里高利·特羅菲姆丘克表示，美國這些生物實驗室所從事的工作從不向外界透露，並且這些實驗室引發了大量的問題，在實驗室所在地就曾爆發過大範圍的麻疹等危險的傳染類疾病。美國建立的這些生物實驗室到底在進行什麼研究？美國為何對這些生物實驗室的功能、用途、安全係數等三緘其口？
Natalia Poklonskaya, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, has proposed to examine the legitimacy of U.S. overseas biological laboratories, according to Sputnik news agency.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has also voiced concerns about U.S. moves to set up biological laboratories in former Soviet Union countries.
Grigory Trofimchuk, a Russian expert on internal affairs, foreign affairs and national defense, said none of these laboratories has disclosed any information regarding their research projects, but outbreaks of infectious diseases such as measles were detected near the site of these bio-labs.
It raises serious questions as to what research is being conducted by these labs and why the U.S. keeps tight-lipped about it.
關鍵字: coronavirus virus reported
