Officials say coronavirus targets elderly and ill, children mostly unaffected

Officials say coronavirus targets elderly and ill, children mostly unaffected
官方说冠状病毒以老年人和病人为目标，儿童大多不受影响
 
The coronavirus is a new illness. It is also called COVID-19. It started in Wuhan, China. There are now cases around the world. The number of cases in the United States has grown. Many Americans are worried.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a government agency. It is in charge of public health. It is called the CDC for short. As of March 5, the CDC said most of the American public is at a low health risk.
Risk Is Low For Most People
Health experts say the coronavirus is not a serious danger to most people.
"The risk is low," said Anthony Fauci. He leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It is another U.S. government health agency.
Health experts say the illness puts certain groups in greater danger. The elderly face the most danger. People who already have medical conditions or long-term illnesses are also at a greater risk.
China's CDC released information about the illness. It said that people who were older had a higher risk of dying. People over 80 years old died more often than anyone else with the virus. People who already had illnesses also died more often.
Those Who Die From The Illness Are Elderly
Most of the people in the U.S. who died from the illness were elderly. Healthy grown-ups with the illness might face small health problems. They could get a cough. They might get a runny nose.
George Rutherford is a doctor. He works at a university. It is in San Francisco, California. He explained why the virus makes some people sicker than others. It has to do with the health of their lungs. The virus affects the lungs. An 80-year-old does not have as strong lungs as a 20-year-old. Older people's lungs have lived through more air pollution. This makes the lungs weaker. Younger people have stronger lungs.
Tom Frieden used to lead the CDC. He said older people are in greater danger.
Children have been mostly safe from the coronavirus. They are the one group that has not had severe cases of it.
"For reasons we don't understand, children don't seem to get severely ill," Frieden said.
Fear And Uncertainty
How to stop the illness is a concern. There is a lot of fear and uncertainty about the illness.
The number of cases in the United States is growing. Businesses have had to respond. Some have canceled events. Others have limited travel for employees. On March 2, Twitter suggested its employees work from home rather than come into the office.
Most cases of the illness are in Washington state. Governor Jay Inslee said people should start thinking about avoiding large events.
Health experts say that people do not need to change much about their lives. They recommend people wash their hands, avoid sick people and limit travel outside the country.
（选自Los Angeles Times）

1.Which sentence from the article states a MAIN idea of the entire article?
A.The coronavirus is a new illness.
B.The elderly face the most danger.
C.The virus affects the lungs.
D.Younger people have stronger lungs.

2.How does coronavirus affect children?
A.Most coronavirus patients are children.
B.Children are more likely to die because of coronavirus.
C.Coronavirus has not seriously affected children.
D.Children cannot get coronavirus.

3.Why do health experts want people to wash their hands?
A.It helps prevent the spread of coronavirus.
B.It helps people feel better when they are sick.
C.It helps spread coronavirus more quickly.
D.It helps treat the symptoms of coronavirus.

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