A 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East has died at a hospital in Shelekhov, near Irkutsk. Russia’s consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said, according to TASS, that the employee had been diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” adding that “the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region, the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov is stable.”
Alexei Tsydenov, head of the neighboring republic of Buryatia, wrote on Telegram on Oct. 3 that the woman had died “possibly from the plague,” noting there were no plague outbreaks in Buryatia. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev urged calm after an extraordinary meeting of the regional anti-epidemic commission with Russia’s chief state sanitary doctor.
According to unofficial reports by the regional outlet Liudi Baikala, nearly 200 people were placed under observation at the Shelekhov hospital, and quarantine was imposed in at least one maternity hospital. The Irkutsk Aluminum Plant near the laboratory told staff to wear masks as a precaution. A U.S. State Department official said Washington was “monitoring the situation closely with the CDC and our other interagency partners.”
Kremlin: rely on Rospotrebnadzor statements
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Oct. 5 that “the competent agency in this case is Rospotrebnadzor, and it is its official statements that should be relied on, not various rumors and speculation.” Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said on Telegram that the situation was stable and that no new cases of institute employees seeking medical care had been reported in recent days.
More than 60 staff at the institute have been isolated, sources told RFE/RL’s Siberia.Realities, and visitors have been barred at two Irkutsk hospitals and a maternity hospital, with patients unable to leave for up to six days. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was “watching and monitoring it closely.” Kazakhstan’s Health Ministry introduced sanitary and quarantine controls at border crossings, saying no arriving passengers had shown high fever or symptoms and that the risk remained low.
Footage circulating online, reportedly filmed aboard a passenger plane after landing in Moscow, shows passengers waiting on board for checks by health officials. It has not been officially confirmed which flight the footage shows or whether mandatory temperature checks have been introduced for passengers from Irkutsk.
Update, Oct. 6: Rospotrebnadzor said the deceased employee had pneumonia of unknown etiology and that two COVID-19 and two rhinovirus cases were found among quarantined contacts, with no other pathogens detected. Quarantine at the Shelekhov district hospital remains in place and 197 people are under observation. Footage said to show people in protective suits on the streets of Shelekhov has not been officially verified.
