美國統一各州埃博拉防控措施

WASHINGTON — The federal government on Monday announced a new set of monitoring guidelines for people arriving from West Africa that stopped short of the tough measures instituted in New York and New Jersey last week, an effort to bring uniformity to a messy patchwork of responses by states.

華盛頓——週一，聯邦政府針對來自西非的人員，公佈了一套新的監控指導方針。此舉旨在讓各州的響應措施趨於統一，擺脫目前混亂無序的局面。但這些方針的嚴厲程度，不及紐約州和新澤西州上個星期出臺的措施。

The new policy, which federal health officials said was an effort to strike a balance between safety and civil liberties, would require returning heath care workers, or people who had been near Ebola patients, to submit to an in-person checkup and a phone call from a local public health authority.

聯邦衛生官員稱，新的政策是爲了在安全和公民自由之間取得平衡。該政策將要求從西非回國的醫護工作者或曾經接觸埃博拉患者的人，接受當地公共衛生官員的親自檢查和電話調查。

That is looser than the stay-home quarantine policies in New York and New Jersey, and many believed that the long-awaited federal response would be unlikely to satisfy the governors of those states, who believe the government needs to be more proactive in preventing potential Ebola patients from spreading the virus.

這種做法比紐約州和新澤西州採取的居家隔離政策更加寬鬆，許多人認爲，這個期待已久的聯邦響應措施，不太可能令這些州的州長滿意。後者認爲，政府需要更積極地防止潛在的埃博拉患者傳播該病毒。

Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who announced the new measures, said: "We believed these are based on science. These add a strong level of protection."

宣佈上述新措施的是美國疾病控制與預防中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention，簡稱CDC）主任托馬斯·弗裏登博士(Thomas Frieden)。他說：“我們相信這些措施是有科學依據的。它們能夠形成一種強有力的保護。”

But the C.D.C. does not have regulatory authority, and it will be up to states to enforce the policy, and a number of states have already indicated that they believe stronger measures should be taken, including Illinois and Florida.

但CDC沒有監管權限，這些政策的執行取決於各州政府。有幾個州已經表示，認爲應該採取更有力的措施，其中包括伊利諾伊州和佛羅里達州。

Approximately 100 people a day arrive to the United States from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, most of them American citizens or permanent residents. About 70 percent of the people arrive to six states – New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia. Dr. Frieden argued that his agency was in discussions with states, but did not specify which ones.

每天有大約100人從塞拉利昂、幾內亞和利比里亞飛抵美國，他們多數是美國公民，或擁有永久居留權。約70%的人會抵達以下六個州：紐約州、馬里蘭州、賓夕法尼亞州、喬治亞州、新澤西州和弗吉尼亞州。弗裏登稱，CDC正在與各州政府進行相關討論，但沒有具體說明是哪些州。

"We found that health departments generally do follow C.D.C. guidelines," he said. "If they wish them to be more stringent, that is within their authority."

“我們發現衛生部門基本上沒有遵守CDC的指導方針，”他說。“如果它們希望採取更加嚴格的措施，它們有權力這樣做。”

Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia said Monday that his state would begin to monitor travelers arriving from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone for having symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus, and might prohibit returning health workers from taking public transit or attending large gatherings for three weeks after their arrival.

弗吉尼亞州長特里·麥考利夫(Terry McAuliffe)週一表示，將開始對那些從幾內亞、利比里亞和塞拉利昂抵達美國，並呈現埃博拉病毒症狀的人員進行監控，而且還可能禁止回國的衛生工作者在抵達後的三週內乘坐公共交通工具或參加大規模聚會。

Health workers who cared for Ebola patients in West Africa will also be required to sign agreements that restrict their activities, the state said. Those health workers who had "known breaches of protective protocol" will be required to stay at home for 21 days — with the possibility of mandatory quarantine, Mr. McAuliffe said in a statement.

該州表示，在西非護理過埃博拉患者的醫護人員，也將被要求籤署限制其活動的協議。麥考利夫在一份聲明中稱，那些“已知曾違反防護規程”的醫護人員，將被要求在家裏待21天，並可能被強制隔離。

Health care workers who treated Ebola patients in West Africa will be "evaluated on a case-by-case basis and may be restricted from public transportation, mass gatherings, and clinical care," the statement said. All travelers arriving in Virginia from the three West African nations will be asked to take and record their temperature at least twice each day, with local health officials contacting them daily for three weeks to check on their condition.

該聲明稱，在西非治療過埃博拉患者的醫務工作者將“逐個接受評估，並可能被限制乘坐公共交通工具、參加大型聚會、參與臨牀護理”。從前述三個西非國家抵達弗吉尼亞州的人員，將被要求每天至少測量並記錄兩次體溫，並且當地的衛生官員將在三週的時間裏每天與其聯繫，檢查他們的情況。

Even if a traveler has tested negative for the virus, but develops symptoms that suggest Ebola has been contracted, Mr. McAuliffe said the traveler might be asked to remain at home for 21 days under the close supervision of state health officials.

麥考利夫稱，如果有旅客出現的症狀顯示感染了埃博拉病毒，即使該人的病毒檢測呈陰性，也可能會被要求在家裏待21天，接受州衛生官員的密切監督。

In announcing the new policy for returning health care workers, federal officials are seeking to strike a delicate balance between getting the medical details right and making sure the public is comfortable with the approach the government is taking. This is important because, should the virus begin to spread, health workers will need the public to trust them enough to reveal information.

聯邦官員公佈針對歸國醫務人員的新政策，意在取得一個微妙的平衡：一方面需要搞清楚醫療細節，另一方面又需要讓公衆能接受政府採取的措施。這一點頗爲重要，因爲一旦埃博拉病毒開始傳播，衛生工作者需要贏得公衆足夠的信任，公衆纔會透露信息。

"If something is going to scare someone, an Ebola guy on the subway is a pretty good way," said Howard Markel, a professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "You have to be concerned with the public ramification of your actions."

“如果說有什麼東西會嚇到人，地鐵上出現埃博拉患者可是個很好的辦法，”密歇根大學安娜堡分校(University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)醫學史教授霍華德·馬克爾(Howard Markel)說。“你必須關心自己的行動對公衆造成的後果。”

The differences between the federal government and the governors have already erupted into a political test of wills just days before the midterm elections. Administration officials over the weekend harshly criticized the quarantine plans in New York and New Jersey, saying they went too far and could have the unintended consequence of discouraging health care workers from going to West Africa.

在距離中期選舉僅剩幾天之際，聯邦政府和各州州長之間的分歧，已經爆發成了一場政治上的意志考驗。週末，聯邦政府官員嚴厲批評紐約州和新澤西州的隔離方案，稱那些舉動過頭了，並且可能造成意想不到的後果，打消醫務工作者去西非的念頭。

But Andrew M. Cuomo, the governor of New York, and Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, have refused to back down, saying they are putting in place policies that they think are necessary to protect the public.

但紐約州長安德魯·M·庫默(Andrew M. Cuomo)和新澤西州長克里斯·克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)拒絕讓步，稱他們正在實施的政策，是保護公衆所必要的。

Mr. Christie on Monday did agree to allow a nurse who had been quarantined in a tent at a New Jersey hospital to travel to her home in Maine.

克里斯蒂週一的確同意一名護士返回位於緬因州的家中。之前，這名護士被隔離在新澤西一家醫院的帳篷裏。