3月4日，英國衛生部門宣佈政府將不再每日公佈新增新冠肺炎病例的地理位置，而改為每週五更新一次，該決定引發公眾廣泛不滿。
英國《衛報》報道稱，在英國確診病例激增70%之後，英國政府發表這一聲明。這一個決定，引發廣泛擔憂，民眾擔心這將導致虛假新聞滿天飛。
唐寧街10號證實，如果疫情持續蔓延，將會關閉議會。同時，英國政府宣佈新增36例病例。
The British government has been accused of withholding information after a 70 percent increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases. UK health officials also stopped providing daily updates on the location of new infections.
Downing Street confirmed they were discussing plans to close the Houses of Parliament if the outbreak becomes worse. 36 new cases were announced in the UK on March 4, 2020.
據悉，現確診的病例中，有3例是在英國本土感染，這證實了英國民眾的擔憂，即病毒已經在英國經由社區傳播，而政府在初步防範疫情的擴散中，效果並不明顯。總共有87人核酸檢測呈陽性，這些病例分佈於英格蘭、蘇格蘭、威爾士和北愛爾蘭。
英國衛生部官員在每週五例行總結前，沒有發佈新病例的更新信息，這一決定遭到了民眾的強烈反對。
Three of the cases were believed to have been infected within the UK, confirming fears the virus has spread in the community and government measures to prevent it have not been effective. A total of 87 people have tested positive for nucleic acid in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
3月5日，迫於公眾對政府信息不透明的質疑，英國衛生部的態度有了180度大轉彎，並且立即表示恢復疫情的更新。英格蘭首席醫療官克里斯·威蒂教授稱，新增病例的地理位置依舊會每日更新，但要延遲大約24小時發佈，以核實信息是否準確。
英國公共衛生部前總監表示，應該慎重考慮“周更”的舉措，政府信息應該公開透明化，公眾理應有知曉權。
據BBC報道，截至發稿，英國累計確診感染新型冠狀病毒163例。
The government has reversed a controversial decision to withhold information about the geographical spread of the coronavirus, as people expressed their dissatisfaction online.
On Thursday morning, Professor Chris Whitty announced a U-turn on the decision, saying the government would provide daily updates but the information would be delayed by 24 hours to allow time for the government to verify sources.
A former director at Public Health England (PHE) said the weekly update on COVID-19 cases should be reconsidered. Updates on COVID-19 should be more transparent because the public has the right to know and to make informed choices from there.
It comes as the number of UK people diagnosed with the virus reached 116, a rise of more than 30 in 24 hours.
皇家伯克郡國民保健中心（Royal Berkshire NHS Trust ）在一份聲明中證實：一名70多歲的女性患者先前曾因為其他病因入院治療，但於3月4日晚，這名患者新冠病毒核酸監測結果呈陽性。
不幸的是，這名患者於第二天上午去世。
與此同時，英國首相官方發言人表示，“病毒很可能會以一種顯著的方式傳播”。
According to the BBC, the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said the patient was in her 70s and had been “in and out of the hospital for other underlying diseases.” She was accepted and tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. Unfortunately, she died the next morning.
Meanwhile, the prime minister's official spokesman said it was "highly likely the virus is going to spread in a significant way."
在大洋彼岸的美國，同樣也經歷著煎熬
世界衛生組織（WHO）剛公佈全球確診新冠肺炎3.4%的病死率，特朗普卻在Fox News節目連線中，憑“直覺”公開叫板：假的，“我看就不到1%”。
根據約翰斯·霍普金斯大學的實時更新數據顯示，美國目前已有12人死於新冠肺炎。美國疾控中心的數據顯示，截至4日16時，148例病例中有49例感染途徑不明。
The World Health Organization has reported a 3.4 percent fatality rate for COVID-19 infections.
But in an interview on Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump said it’s less than one percent, based on a “hunch” and conversations with people. Calling COVID-19 the “corona flu,” Trump said a lot of people infected with the novel coronavirus have mild symptoms, recover quickly, and do not go to the doctor’s, and are therefore not part of the official count, skewing the numbers.
Twelve people have now died from COVID-19 in the U.S., according to live updates from Johns Hopkins University. On March 4, 2020, data from the CDC showed that 49 out of the 148 cases had an unknown route of infection.
面對英美這種不謹慎的做法，網友表示細思極恐。
有網友認為，唐寧街對於此次疫情的措施與新聞透明度是相違背的，政府此舉並沒有激起公眾對其的信任，甚至這種欲蓋彌彰的做法，也是其不自信的一種體現。也有網友認為，弱勢群體們需要知道哪裡有疫情，才能更好地保護好自己。
閱讀更多 CGTN 的文章
