A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East, a laboratory ostensibly dedicated to finding the cures for deadly diseases, reportedly died from “pneumonia of undetermined origin” last week. Almost 200 people who came into contact with her are now under observation and, while officials in Siberia say there was no evidence of a lab leak, memories of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic loom over the incident.
The U.S. State Department said on Monday that “many details have not been confirmed,” and encouraged Russian officials to “share accurate information quickly and openly.” “We’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm, but it is cause for focus and a cause to just keep an eye on it, and we’re doing that,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) said it was aware of reports from Irkutsk, but noted that “no cause of death has been officially confirmed” for the unfortunate lab worker.
