How COVID-19 Took Over the World in 2020
2021-01-02
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A new coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China, about one year ago.
2It quickly spread around the world.
3The virus causes the disease COVID-19 which is blamed for causing more than 1.8 million deaths around the world and widespread economic damage.
4Each nation has its own story of how it dealt with the spread of the coronavirus.
5News of promising vaccines and medicines are bringing hope, but a large increase in the number of cases remains a problem.
6As 2020 came to an end, the Associated Press gathered stories about the crisis from its reporters in several countries.
7Here are shorter versions of what they wrote.
8Brazil
9In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro criticized quarantines.
10He said closing businesses would harm the economy and punish the poor.
11He did not take the virus seriously enough and claimed that nothing could stop 70 percent of Brazilians from catching it.
12He would not take responsibility when people became sick.
13Instead, Bolsonaro provided economic aid to ease the pain of the pandemic.
14China
15In China, workers have returned to factories and offices, students are back in the classroom and people are gathering at restaurants.
16In the cities, wearing a face covering is not required outside of subways and other crowded places.
17Life is back to normal in China, the country where the coronavirus appeared one year ago.
18China's ruling Communist Party has lifted some of the strongest anti-disease controls ever.
19Germany
20Germans eased restrictions in the summer.
21That was the result of widespread testing for the virus which won wide praise.
22It brought the number of daily COVID-19 cases down from a high of more than 6,000 in late March to the few hundreds by the warmer months.
23But people stopped following the rules all the time, so the numbers began to climb to nearly four times the March daily record.
24Germany is now in a new lockdown as it tries to bring the pandemic back under control.
25India
26A nation of 1.3 billion people, India is likely to become the country with the world's highest coronavirus numbers.
27It established a nationwide lockdown early on.
28But the number of cases went up quickly as restrictions eased and its weak public health system struggled to deal with the situation.
29There are questions about its unusually low death rate.
30In addition, India's struggling economy recorded its worst performance in at least 20 years.
31Iran
32At the start, Iranian officials downplayed COVID-19.
33They denied the rising number of infections.
34They refused to close Muslim religious centers and delayed closing businesses.
35The coronavirus pandemic has worsened in Iran in the course of the year.
36Now the virus has sickened and killed top officials.
37It is perhaps Iran's greatest threat since the unrest and war that followed its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
38Israel
39Israel went into its second nationwide coronavirus lockdown in September.
40People observing the most traditional form of religion did not obey safety rules and crowded together for ceremonies and services, so COVID-19 cases continued to rise.
41This gave others the idea that the community puts more importance on religion over science and cares little about the greater good.
42Italy
43In February, Italy became the center of COVID-19 cases in Europe.
44Italy's wealthy health care system nearly collapsed under the weight of the pandemic.
45The lessons of that earlier wave did not help the much older population of the country in September.
46The number of infections rose again and many of those victims were older people.
47Hospitals once again were almost at a breaking point.
48Japan
49The COVID-19 pandemic in Japan started in February when a cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, returned to its home port near Tokyo.
50The boat carried people sick with the virus.
51More got sick as the passengers stayed on the ship for weeks.
52Many criticized how health officials handled that quarantine.
53Wearing face coverings is a part of daily life in Japan.
54There are also strong border controls.
55The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were canceled, but the country hopes to hold them next summer.
56Kenya
57Usually, young people have less serious coronavirus infections.
58But the effects of the pandemic in Kenya have fallen hard on the young.
59Some children were forced into hard labor and prostitution.
60The schools have closed until 2021. Babies were born in poor conditions.
61Growing economic pressures and closed schools hurt millions of Kenyan children.
62South Africa
63In the world's most unequal country, the disease hit the poor the hardest.
64Unemployment rose to 42 percent.
65But South Africa had a secret weapon.
66Its health professionals had fought against the epidemics of HIV/AIDS and drug-resistant TB.
67The country's leaders listened to their advice on how to deal with the coronavirus.
68So, the worst possible outcomes have not yet happened.
69Spain
70In Spain, many question a system that failed to prevent so many deaths.
71Politicians say that the system did not collapse during the first wave of infections, when the country recorded 929 deaths in a single day.
72But health professionals say that the actual cost was overworked staff.
73New Zealand
74In New Zealand, the government closed its borders and shut down nearly everything, preventing all but a few deaths.
75What do you think of the Associated Press reports? If you are online, we would like to hear from you in the comments section.
76I'm Jill Robbins.
1A new coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China, about one year ago. It quickly spread around the world. The virus causes the disease COVID-19 which is blamed for causing more than 1.8 million deaths around the world and widespread economic damage. 2Each nation has its own story of how it dealt with the spread of the coronavirus. News of promising vaccines and medicines are bringing hope, but a large increase in the number of cases remains a problem. 3As 2020 came to an end, the Associated Press gathered stories about the crisis from its reporters in several countries. Here are shorter versions of what they wrote. 4Brazil 5In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro criticized quarantines. He said closing businesses would harm the economy and punish the poor. He did not take the virus seriously enough and claimed that nothing could stop 70 percent of Brazilians from catching it. He would not take responsibility when people became sick. Instead, Bolsonaro provided economic aid to ease the pain of the pandemic. 6China 7In China, workers have returned to factories and offices, students are back in the classroom and people are gathering at restaurants. In the cities, wearing a face covering is not required outside of subways and other crowded places. Life is back to normal in China, the country where the coronavirus appeared one year ago. China's ruling Communist Party has lifted some of the strongest anti-disease controls ever. 8Germany 9Germans eased restrictions in the summer. That was the result of widespread testing for the virus which won wide praise. It brought the number of daily COVID-19 cases down from a high of more than 6,000 in late March to the few hundreds by the warmer months. 10But people stopped following the rules all the time, so the numbers began to climb to nearly four times the March daily record. Germany is now in a new lockdown as it tries to bring the pandemic back under control. 11India 12A nation of 1.3 billion people, India is likely to become the country with the world's highest coronavirus numbers. It established a nationwide lockdown early on. But the number of cases went up quickly as restrictions eased and its weak public health system struggled to deal with the situation. There are questions about its unusually low death rate. In addition, India's struggling economy recorded its worst performance in at least 20 years. 13Iran 14At the start, Iranian officials downplayed COVID-19. They denied the rising number of infections. They refused to close Muslim religious centers and delayed closing businesses. The coronavirus pandemic has worsened in Iran in the course of the year. Now the virus has sickened and killed top officials. It is perhaps Iran's greatest threat since the unrest and war that followed its 1979 Islamic Revolution. 15Israel 16Israel went into its second nationwide coronavirus lockdown in September. People observing the most traditional form of religion did not obey safety rules and crowded together for ceremonies and services, so COVID-19 cases continued to rise. This gave others the idea that the community puts more importance on religion over science and cares little about the greater good. 17Italy 18In February, Italy became the center of COVID-19 cases in Europe. Italy's wealthy health care system nearly collapsed under the weight of the pandemic. The lessons of that earlier wave did not help the much older population of the country in September. The number of infections rose again and many of those victims were older people. Hospitals once again were almost at a breaking point. 19Japan 20The COVID-19 pandemic in Japan started in February when a cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, returned to its home port near Tokyo. The boat carried people sick with the virus. More got sick as the passengers stayed on the ship for weeks. Many criticized how health officials handled that quarantine. Wearing face coverings is a part of daily life in Japan. There are also strong border controls. 21The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were canceled, but the country hopes to hold them next summer. 22Kenya 23Usually, young people have less serious coronavirus infections. But the effects of the pandemic in Kenya have fallen hard on the young. Some children were forced into hard labor and prostitution. The schools have closed until 2021. Babies were born in poor conditions. Growing economic pressures and closed schools hurt millions of Kenyan children. 24South Africa 25In the world's most unequal country, the disease hit the poor the hardest. Unemployment rose to 42 percent. But South Africa had a secret weapon. Its health professionals had fought against the epidemics of HIV/AIDS and drug-resistant TB. The country's leaders listened to their advice on how to deal with the coronavirus. So, the worst possible outcomes have not yet happened. 26Spain 27In Spain, many question a system that failed to prevent so many deaths. Politicians say that the system did not collapse during the first wave of infections, when the country recorded 929 deaths in a single day. But health professionals say that the actual cost was overworked staff. 28New Zealand 29In New Zealand, the government closed its borders and shut down nearly everything, preventing all but a few deaths. 30Your turn 31What do you think of the Associated Press reports? If you are online, we would like to hear from you in the comments section. 32I'm Jill Robbins. 33Reporters for the Associated Press wrote this story. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 34See all of The Associated Press' "A Pandemic Atlas" 35What do you think of your own country's response to the pandemic? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 36________________________________________________________________ 37Words in This Story 38pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 39downplay - v. to make (something) seem smaller or less important 40infectious - adj. capable of causing infection 41lockdown - n. a state of isolation or restricted access put in place as a security measure. 42quarantine - n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading 43prostitution -n. the trade of providing sex in exchange for money 44epidemic -n. when a disease spreads quickly and affects large number of people