No one in India is safe. This infection has seeped so deeply into the community that it is impossible to avoid the virus with its new, seemingly more infectious mutations, spreading through entire families like wildfire.
There have never been so many cremations. The electric furnaces in crematoriums have started to melt because of the continuous burning. They are shut for hours to cool so they don't break down. 从来没有这么多火葬。火葬场的电炉因为持续燃烧已经开始融化了。人们不得不关闭几个小时来冷却,不然电炉会坏掉。The graveyards are full. So bodies just pile up. 墓地都满了,尸体堆积如山。cremation /krə'meʃən/ n. 烧,火葬graveyard /'greɪvjɑːd/ n. 墓地,坟场
由于疫情的急剧恶化,印度多地出现医用氧气短缺危机,各地方政府之间不断上演“氧气争夺战”。
新德里大法官崩溃地向总理莫迪喊话,呼吁其设法满足该市医疗资源短缺:“你去乞求!去借!去偷!”And days before, a minister in Haryana blamed Delhi authorities for looting an oxygen tanker when it was crossing their territory.几天前,哈里亚纳邦的一名部长指责德里当局抢劫了一辆正在穿越他们领土的氧气罐车。"Unfortunately, many such incidents have occurred and have dire effect on hospitals in need of oxygen supplies," Saket Tiku, president of the All India Industrial Gases Manufacturers Association, said.“不幸的是,像这样的事情频频发生,并对需要氧气供应的医院产生了可怕的影响,”全印度工业气体制造商协会主席Saket Tiku说。oxygen /'ɒksɪdʒ(ə)n/ n. 〈化〉氧, 氧气
It usually costs around 32,480 rupees for a vial of 400mg. But Kamal Kumar paid 250,000 rupees to buy one dose for his father.400毫克一小瓶通常要花32480卢比。但是卡迈勒·库马尔花了25万卢比给他父亲买了一瓶。He said the price was "mind boggling" but he had no other option but to pay.他说这个价格“令人难以置信”,但除了付钱,他别无选择。boggle /'bɒg(ə)l/ v.使困惑; 困惑
But not many in India can afford to pay the price and they are being exploited in their desperation to save their loved ones. Public health expert Anant Bhan says the government should have procured the drug in huge quantities.
"Not many can afford to pay the official price of the drug, forget about the black market prices. This shows that there was no planning. The government failed to anticipate the wave and plan for it," he says.
An IT worker, who did not want to be named, said that he desperately needed to buy an oxygen cylinder and remdesivir, and he got a lead from Twitter. 一位不愿透露姓名的IT工作者说,他迫切需要买一个氧气瓶和瑞德西韦(一种药物),并从推特上获得了货源。When he contacted the person, he was told to deposit 10,000 rupees as advance payment.当他与此人联系时,那人要他存入1万卢比作为预付款。"The moment I sent the money, the person blocked my number," he said.“我刚把钱打过去,那个人就屏蔽了我的号码,”他说。
而另一方面,大量印度富人紧急出逃这个濒临崩溃的国家。有报道称,9小时的飞行的花费可能超过10万英镑(约合人民币90万元)。At least eight private jets landed in the UK from India in the 24 hours before Friday’s deadline as the super-rich paid tens of thousands of pounds to beat the travel ban, the Times reported.
早在4月22日,中国外交部发言人汪文斌就曾表示,中方愿为印方控制疫情提供必要的支持和帮助。不过,好笑的是,《印度时报》居然还发文炒作“中国不在印度寻求进口氧气的国家范围之内”。这波神奇操作,就问你们怎么看?With India reeling under the Covid-79 pandemic, China said Thursday it stood ready to provide India with necessary support and assistance to get the situation under control.在印度遭遇严重的新冠肺炎疫情之际,中方在周四表示,愿为印方提供必要的支持和援助,帮助印方进一步控制疫情。However, while India is looking to import oxygen from abroad as the union health ministry had said last week, official sources said China was not among the countries India was looking to source oxygen from. India for now has identified potential sources mainly in the Gulf and Singapore然而,印度卫生部上周表示,印度希望从国外进口氧气,据官方消息表示,中国并不在印度寻求进口氧气的国家范围之内。而目前印度已确认的潜在进口来源主要是海湾国家以及新加坡。而至于美国,此前“婉拒”印度求援,但就在今天早上,美国政府似乎改口了,说要援助印度,还会解除之前的疫苗原材料出口限制。不少印度媒体兴奋地报道这个好消息,一些印度网民更在感谢着美国。可事情的真相并没有这么简单。这种援助仍然是要建立在美国先确保本国防疫需求的基础之上的。印度的疫情现状也给世界各国提了个醒,抗疫面前,容不得半丝自以为是。靠神,靠别人,都不如靠自己!希望这波疫情能尽快控制住,印度的“悲剧”不要在其他地方上演......