[ti:Russia’s Putin Self-Isolates after COVID-19 Infects His Team]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]更多听力请访问21VOA.COM
[00:00.04]Russia’s government says President Vladimir Putin
[00:04.76]is in self-isolation after several members of his team
[00:10.56]became infected with COVID-19.
[00:14.84]Government spokesman Dmitry Peskov
[00:19.32]told reporters Tuesday that Putin himself
[00:23.88]tested negative for COVID-19 and was “absolutely healthy.”
[00:31.52]But the Russian leader decided to self-isolate
[00:35.96]because he had been in close contact in recent days
[00:40.64]with others who were infected.
[00:43.76]Peskov did not say how long Putin
[00:48.08]would remain in self-isolation.
[00:52.04]He did not name any of the individuals around the president
[00:56.76]who were infected, but he did say there were several cases.
[01:02.92]Peskov added that Putin’s isolation
[01:06.96]would not greatly affect his work.
[01:09.92]He said that while Putin will not hold in-person meetings,
[01:15.60]the president “will continue his activity via video conferences.”
[01:22.40]The 68-year-old Putin has had two injections
[01:27.16]of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
[01:31.92]The president explained the situation
[01:35.20]at a government meeting by video conference.
[01:39.24]"It's a natural experiment.
[01:42.32]Let's see how Sputnik V works in practice," Putin said.
[01:48.88]"I have quite high levels of antibodies.
[01:52.32]Let's see how that plays out in real life.
[01:56.16]I hope everything will be as it should be."
[02:00.64]Putin said the situation forced him
[02:04.32]to cancel a planned trip to Tajikistan this week
[02:09.20]for security meetings expected to center on Afghanistan.
[02:15.92]He added that he planned to take part
[02:18.92]in those meetings by video conference instead.
[02:24.04]The Russian government said Putin decided to self-isolate
[02:29.16]after completing a series of meetings in Moscow on Monday.
[02:35.60]Those included face-to-face talks
[02:38.68]with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
[02:43.36]Putin also met with Russian Paralympians
[02:47.12]and traveled to western Russia on Monday
[02:51.12]to observe joint military drills with Belarus.
[02:56.80]When asked about the timing of the decision,
[03:00.64]Peskov said it was made
[03:03.00]after “doctors completed their testing, their procedures.”
[03:08.16]He added that “no one's health was endangered”
[03:12.72]during Monday's events.
[03:15.00]Alexander Gintsburg directs the Gamaleya Institute,
[03:20.84]which developed the country’s Sputnik V vaccine.
[03:26.36]He told the Interfax news agency that, in his opinion,
[03:31.92]Putin would need to self-isolate for at least one week.
[03:37.28]Russian officials have been criticized
[03:41.12]for not taking the pandemic seriously
[03:44.60]and for rarely putting in place measures to control the virus,
[03:50.32]even when faced with high infection rates.
[03:54.28]Russia’s death rate from COVID-19 is currently
[03:59.28]at its highest level since the pandemic began.
[04:03.32]However, few virus restrictions are currently in place.
[04:09.16]Russia has struggled to vaccinate its citizens,
[04:13.88]with injection rates falling behind many other nations.
[04:18.96]As of September 10, only 32 percent of the population
[04:25.00]had received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
[04:30.72]And just 27 percent of the population had been fully vaccinated.
[04:37.68]I’m Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM