At the beginning of the pandemic, Spain, for example, ordered people to stay at home for more than three months. People including children were not permitted to go outside, even for exercise. The economy sharply slowed.
例如在大流行开始时，西班牙下令人们居家超过3个月时间。包括儿童在内的人们不得外出，即使是锻炼。该国经济急剧放缓。
Officials said the measures prevented a collapse of the health care system. But last year, Spain's Supreme Court ruled that the draconian measures were not constitutional.
西班牙官员表示，这些措施防止了医疗保健系统的奔溃。但是去年，西班牙最高法院裁定这种严厉措施不符合宪法。
Now, Spain is planning to employ a different policy. The country has one of Europe's highest vaccination rates, but also is suffering economic weakness. The government is planning to deal with the next increase in infections not as an emergency but as a normal infectious disease.
现在，西班牙计划采取不同的政策。该国是欧洲疫苗接种率最高的国家之一，但是也正遭受经济疲软之苦。政府计划把下一波感染激增当作普通传染病，而不是紧急状况来处理。
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wants the European Union to consider similar changes.
西班牙首相佩德罗·桑切斯希望欧盟考虑类似的改变。
The goal is to move away from using crisis measures and toward treating the new coronavirus in the way that many countries deal with the flu and measles.
目标是不再采用危机措施，转而采取许多国家应对流感和麻疹的方式来对待新冠病毒。
Other European countries including Britain and Portugal are planning similar action.
包括英国和葡萄牙在内的其它欧洲国家也计划采取类似行动。
Britain lifts measures
英国解除防控措施
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament Wednesday that the infectious Omicron version of the new coronavirus "has peaked nationally."
英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊周三对议会表示，高传染性的新冠病毒奥密克戎版本已经在全英国范围内达到了顶峰。
Johnson said beginning on January 27, many COVID-19 measures would end. These include required vaccination proof to attend public events. The country will also end its requirement that face coverings, or masks, be worn in public. As of Thursday, British secondary schools no longer require mask use.
约翰逊表示，从1月27日开始，许多新冠防控措施都将废除。其中包括参加公共活动所需的疫苗接种证明。该国还将废除在公共场合佩戴口罩的要求。自周四起，英国中学将不再要求佩戴口罩。
"We will trust the judgement of the British people and no longer criminalize anyone who chooses not to wear one," Johnson said.
约翰逊表示：“我们相信英国人民自己的判断，不再认定不戴口罩者有罪。”
Last month, British officials renewed strong restrictive measures to slow the spread of the Omicron version of the virus.
上个月，英国官员重新采取强有力的限制措施，以延缓奥密克戎病毒的传播。
Johnson noted that more than 90 percent of those over the age of 60 in Britain have had a third additional, or booster, vaccination against the virus.
约翰逊指出，在英国60岁以上人群中，超过90%的人士已经接种了疫苗加强针。
COVID-19 as ‘endemic'
将新冠肺炎视为地方病
Portugal has one of the world's highest vaccination rates. On New Year's Day, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said the country had "moved into the endemic phase" of the pandemic. Endemic means a disease will continue to exist in some areas for years to come. The president was speaking about easing crisis-level restrictions.
葡萄牙是全球疫苗接种率最高的国家之一。元旦那天，葡萄牙总统马塞洛·雷贝洛·德索萨表示，该国已经进入大流行的地方病阶段。地方病是指某种疾病未来几年会继续在某些地区存在。德索萨总统是在讨论放松危机级别的限制措施。
The number of Omicron infections has again gone up. But the number of people admitted to the hospital and deaths among vaccinated people in Europe are much lower than at earlier times in the pandemic.
奥密克戎感染人数再次上升。但是，欧洲已接种疫苗者当中的住院人数和死亡人数都远低于大流行初期。
In some places, the idea of returning to normal life can conflict with efforts to get more people vaccinated. In Germany, for example, 73 percent of people have been fully vaccinated. Health Ministry spokesman Andreas Deffner said Monday that, "We still have too many unvaccinated people," especially noting older citizens.
在某些地方，恢复正常生活的想法可能会跟让更多人接种疫苗的努力相冲突。例如在德国，73%的人口已经完全接种疫苗。德国卫生部发言人安德烈亚斯·德弗纳周一表示，得国仍然有很多人未接种疫苗，尤其提到了老年人。
Over 80 percent of Spain's population has received two vaccination shots. Health officials are placing their attention on booster shots for adults.
西班牙80%以上人口接种了两针疫苗。该国卫生官员开始将注意力放在成年人的加强针上。
Dr. Salvador Trenche is head of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine. It has called on policies that treat the virus as endemic. He said widespread vaccination and infection mean efforts can be placed on prevention, testing and watching moderate- to high-risk groups. COVID-19 "must be treated like the rest of illnesses," he told the Associated Press.
Salvador Trenche博士是西班牙家庭和社会医学协会的负责人。该协会呼吁出台将新冠病毒视为地方病的政策。他说，广泛的疫苗接种和感染意味着可以将措施放在预防、检测和留意中高风险人群上。他对美联社表示，新冠肺炎必须被当作其它疾病一样对待。
The plan has been called the "flu-ization" of COVID-19 by the Spanish media.
该计划被西班牙媒体称作新冠肺炎的流感化。
For now, some observers say the discussion about how to deal with endemic COVID-19 is limited to rich countries. They have used vaccines and public health systems to deal with the severest effects of the pandemic. And it is unclear how the endemic-linked policies will coexist with the so-called "zero-COVID" policies in several Asian nations.
目前，一些观察人士表示，有关如何应对地方性新冠肺炎的讨论仅限于发达国家。他们利用疫苗和公共卫生系统来应对大流行的最严重影响。目前尚不清楚在几个亚洲国家，地方病相关政策将如何与所谓的“新冠病毒清零”政策共存。