After the US Embassy in Russia called on US citizens to leave Russia due to a suspicious death at a plague research institute in Russia, which caused epidemic concerns, US President Donald Trump stated that he would meet with Russian President Putin regarding the epidemic.
When asked by members of the press whether he had met with Russian President Putin about the epidemic in Russia, Trump replied, "We have an arranged phone call. We will meet very soon." Stating that US intelligence agencies are paying close attention to the epidemic, Trump said, "We will probably announce a report on this issue tomorrow."
'LEAVE THE COUNTRY IMMEDIATELY'
The US Embassy in Russia announced that the suspicious death at a plague research institute in the Siberian region of Russia, which caused epidemic concerns, was being closely monitored and reminded that "The State Department's Level 4 Travel Warning (Do Not Travel) for Russia remains in effect. This warning states that US citizens in Russia should leave the country immediately."
The statement reminded that "U.S. citizens planning to travel to Russia are once again strongly advised not to travel to Russia due to the risk of unjust detention and security concerns."
WHO: NO PLAGUE CASE WAS RECORDED
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in the message he published on his social media account that WHO is closely following the news about the allegations. Announcing a response to the request for verification regarding the suspicious death that caused epidemic concerns, the Russian health authorities reported that no plague cases have been recorded in Irkutsk recently. Authorities informed the WHO that an epidemiological investigation was carried out, prevention and control measures were implemented, and the identified contact persons were placed under medical surveillance and tested. It was stated that no high-risk pathogens were found among the contact persons and the medical surveillance processes of all detected contact persons were completed."
'ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WAS REQUESTED FROM RUSSIA'
Emphasizing that WHO maintains contact with Russian health authorities and offers technical support, Ghebreyesus said, "WHO has requested additional information from Russia in order to clarify the cause of the severe pneumonia case, the risk that led to public health measures being taken, and the media reports about a second employee who caught pneumonia of unknown cause."
WHAT HAPPENED?
Concerns about the epidemic began when a 28-year-old woman, who worked as a laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute in the Siberian region of Russia, died as a result of a suspicious infection on Friday, October 2.
Some social media channels claimed that an employee of the anti-plague institute died due to "pulmonary plague" on the same day.
