雅思新闻 世卫组织宣布新冠肺炎是全球性大流行病

世卫组织宣布新冠肺炎是全球性大流行病，科学家、政客等各方人士向世界卫生组织不断施压数周后，世卫组织终于决定将新冠肺炎疫情定性为“全球大流行”。新冠病毒现已扩散至100多个国家，感染者已超过15万人，其中不乏名人政要。美国总统特朗普也接受了病毒检测，原因是此前他曾在佛罗里达庄园会见一个巴西代表团，团中数人后来病毒检测呈阳性——特朗普检测结果呈阴性。

More than 5,000 people have been killed. Several nations have closed schools in a bid to stop the virus, and Italy has entered an unprecedented countrywide lockdown. US President Trump imposed a 30-day ban on travel from Europe to the US. Britain won praise for its robust economic response, which, in addition to billions of pounds for hospitals and workers sidelined by illness, included a sharp interest rate cut by the Bank of England. But the world still faces troubles. In the US, the delay in developing coronavirus test kits and the scarcity of tests have made it impossible for officials to get a true picture of the scale of the outbreak. (Nature, The New York Times)

疫情已致逾5000人丧命。为阻止病毒传播，多个国家已关闭学校，意大利则史无前例地封锁了全境。特朗普下令禁止欧洲赴美旅客入境，禁令有效期30天。英国政府出资数十亿英镑补贴医院和因病缺勤的职工，同时央行大幅降息——这些强劲的经济应对措施赢得了好评。但是，全球仍然面临着重重困难。在美国，新冠病毒检测试剂研发缓慢，检测严重不足，以致政府官员无法了解疫情发展的真实状况。

比尔·盖茨辞去微软官方职务

Microsoft marked the end of an era last Friday when Bill Gates stepped down from its board, severing all official ties with the company he co-founded and helped turn into a tech colossus. The billionaire said he chose to leave Microsoft’s board—in addition to Berkshire Hathaway’s on Friday—“to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change.” For the first time since he co-founded the company in 1975 with his childhood friend, thelate Paul Allen, he has no formal role at the company. Still, Gates, who will be a technical advisor to current CEO Satya Nadella, said that the move “in no way means stepping away from the company.”

(Fortune)3月13日，比尔·盖茨宣布退出微软董事会，至此他在微软已无任何正式职务。盖茨是微软的联合创始人，在他的努力下，微软成为了一家科技巨头。盖茨的离开标志着微软一个时代的落幕。同一天，盖茨还退出了伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司的董事会。这位亿万富翁表示，选择退出是“为了有更多时间可以投身慈善事业需优先关注的一些领域，包括全球健康与发展、教育，以及气候变化问题——在应对气候变化这一方面，我的参与越来越多”。这是盖茨自1975年与儿时伙伴保罗·艾伦（已故）一同创立微软以来首次不在公司担任任何正式职务。但他仍是现任首席执行官萨提亚·纳德拉的技术顾问。他表示，退出董事会“绝不意味着离开公司”。