新冠肺炎疫情正在美國洛杉磯肆虐，但當地仍有不少民眾無視防疫規定在房屋內舉行大型聚會。為了對付一些“不聽話”的民眾，該市想出了新招：給舉行大型聚會的房屋斷水斷電。

The mayor of Los Angeles has said the city will be authorised to shut off water and power to properties where large parties and gatherings are held despite restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

洛杉磯市長表示，該市將被授權切斷大型聚會和集會場所的水電供應，盡管已采取了限制新冠病毒傳播的措施。

The order targets repeat offenders who have hosted large gatherings several times during the pandemic, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday.

市長埃里克·加希提周三（8月5日）表示，該命令針對的是那些在疫情期間多次舉辦大型聚會的“慣犯”。

It's meant to deter them from hosting parties or events in the future, during a period of the pandemic when California continues to lead the country in coronavirus cases.

這是為了阻止他們今后在疫情期間舉辦聚會或活動。加州的新冠肺炎確診病例在美國各州仍處于前列。

Eric Garcetti said house parties had become "nightclubs in the hills" and that the focus would be on gatherings "posing significant public dangers".

埃里克·加希提說，家庭聚會已經變成了“山上的夜總會”，這項措施的重點將放在那些“對公眾構成重大危險”的聚會上。

The rule comes into force on Friday.

該規定將于周五（8月7日）生效。

Starting this Friday, if the Los Angeles Police Department responds and confirms that a large gathering is taking place at a property, they'll give notice and request that the city's Department of Water and Power shuts off service to that property within the next two days.

從周五（8月7日）開始，如果洛杉磯市警察局做出回應并證實某處房產正在舉行大規模聚會，他們將發出通知，并要求該市水電局在未來兩天內切斷涉事場所的服務。

"This enforcement is not focused on small and ordinary gatherings in people's homes. These are focused on the people determined to break the rules, posing significant public dangers and a threat to all of us," Garcetti said during a Covid-19 news conference.

加希提在一次新冠肺炎疫情發布會上說：“這一強制措施并不針對人們家中的小型和普通聚會。這些都是針對那些決心打破規則的人，他們對公眾構成了重大危險，對我們所有人都構成了威脅。”

Garcetti called the parties "super-spreader events," attended by "super-spreader people."

加希提稱這些派對為“超級傳播者”參加的“超級傳播活動”。

California is the worst-affected US state with over 532,000 Covid-19 cases.

加州是美國受新冠疫情影響最嚴重的州，新冠肺炎確診病例超過53.2萬例。

State authorities have also reported 9,872 deaths resulting from coronavirus.

據加州當局的數據，該州新冠肺炎死亡病例有9872例。

Los Angeles county continues to report the highest number of infections in the state - 197,912 as of Wednesday.

洛杉磯縣報告的感染病例數仍然是全州最高的，截至周三（8月5日），這一數字為19萬7912例。

Partying has become a problem in Los Angeles, where cases have surged in the weeks since California reopened. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in late July that coronavirus was on track to become the second-leading cause of death in Los Angeles County, after heart disease.

派對已經成為洛杉磯的一個問題，洛杉磯的新冠肺炎確診病例在加州重新開放的數周內激增。州長加文·紐瑟姆在7月下旬表示，新冠肺炎有可能成為洛杉磯縣僅次于心臟病的第二大死亡原因。

Last month California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered an immediate halt to indoor activities at restaurants, bars and entertainment venues.

上個月，加州州長加文·紐瑟姆下令立即停止餐館、酒吧和娛樂場所的室內活動。

But Los Angeles authorities have reported a string of house parties thrown during the pandemic. Earlier this week, a woman was fatally shot at a party in the city's Beverly Crest neighbourhood, where around 200 people had attended.

但洛杉磯當局表示，人們在疫情期間舉行了多次家庭聚會。本周早些時候，一名女子在貝弗利克雷斯特社區的一場派對上被槍殺，當時約有200人參加了這場派對。

Mayor Garcetti told reporters that parties are often taking place at homes that are vacant or used for short-term rentals.

加希提市長對記者說，派對通常在空置或用于短期租賃的房屋中舉行。

"The consequences of these large parties ripple far beyond these parties," he said. "They ripple throughout our entire community because the virus can quickly and easily spread."

他說：“這些大型派對的影響遠遠超出了派對本身。它們會在我們整個社區產生連鎖反應，因為新冠病毒可以迅速而容易地傳播。”

英文來源：BBC、CNN

翻譯&編輯：yaning