End of quarantine. Igor Kobzev issued a statement that he probably doesn't believe in himself

Igor Kobzev published a recording on Thursday in which he said that experts from Rospotrebnadzor, the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (responsible, among others, for supervision in the area of ​​sanitary and epidemiological safety), completed their preventive activities after the death of an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute.

The official announcements do not mention the plague, but a fatal case of "community-acquired pneumonia." Igor Kobzev stated that the woman was vaccinated and had immunity against "dangerous infections with which she worked," and no incidents were reported at the institute when working with "pathogenic microorganisms."

The governor of the Irkutsk region also stated that all people who had contact with the deceased had been tested. "The results of almost 5,000 laboratory tests did not reveal any dangerous pathogenic microorganisms. (...) The quarantine has been lifted. We work normally," he assured.

Death, isolation, quarantine, masks

Let us recall that last week the death of 28-year-old Daria Shipilova, who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, was reported. Rospotrebnadzor linked the woman's death to "pneumonia of unknown etiology", while several sources attributed it to pneumonic plague.

About 200 people who had contact with the deceased laboratory technician were isolated. People of Baikal, an independent Siberian website considered a "foreign agent" by Russian authorities, reported that five hospitals in Irkutsk - as well as a medical facility in nearby Shelekhov - had been quarantined. In addition, wearing masks has been made compulsory in the Irkutsk aluminum smelter.

Igor Kobzev vs. WHO

In a statement on Thursday, Igor Kobzev said that the World Health Organization (WHO) had publicly confirmed that there was no threat to the health of the region's inhabitants.

Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization still does not have a "full picture" of the situation in the Irkutsk Oblast. He noted that this prevents WHO from conducting a comprehensive risk assessment.

The head of WHO also emphasized that he was waiting for further clarifications from the Russian Federation regarding unconfirmed reports of "a second employee with pneumonia of unknown cause." Rospotrebnadzor, however, commented on this matter, claiming that these reports were false.