Symbolic imageUS and WHO press Russia for details on suspected plague death
The US formally asked Russia for more information on Tuesday after a lab technician at a plague institute in Irkutsk died. Trump says he will call Putin soon.
Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's health watchdog, says the 28-year-old died on Friday, 2 October, of pneumonia of unknown etiology, while early local reports and officials spoke of pneumonic plague. A State Department spokesperson said Washington had formally requested more information, and Rubio said it was incumbent on Russia to share more. US officials told the Wall Street Journal that Russia may be violating its obligations under the International Health Regulations. The WHO called for transparency and rated the risk low for Russia and very low for Europe. Its head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, asked about media reports of a second employee with pneumonia, and the US CDC said it saw no wider threat to the United States.
Moscow rejects the criticism
The Kremlin said it had no information on a US request and had informed the WHO. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called most media reports false and told Russians to rely only on Rospotrebnadzor. The agency says over 90 percent of the woman's contacts have been monitored without infectious illness, and that of almost 200 people tested only two had COVID-19 and two rhinovirus. Moscow has not said which tests were used, according to the WSJ.
Other opinions
Global Times reports China's foreign ministry describing close exchanges with Russia on disease prevention, while US outlets focus on demands for disclosure.