Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Moscow on Tuesday to provide more information. “I think it's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world,” he said. Asked whether an intentionally modified strain could have been accidentally released, Rubio said the laboratory link was concerning but that speculation would be irresponsible without more information. Russian authorities denied Tuesday that special restrictions had been introduced.
Darya Shipilova, 28, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, died overnight Oct. 1–2 after developing severe pneumonia. Nearly 200 contacts were placed under observation and several hospitals reportedly imposed quarantine restrictions. Reports that she broke a tube containing plague bacteria remain unconfirmed, and Russia’s health watchdog denied a laboratory accident. The World Health Organization’s initial assessment put the risk at low for Russia and very low for the European region.