Is Putin 'covering up' Russia plague outbreak? Scientist’s death, 'COVID-style' quarantine spark fears

Russia has declared a Covid-style plague quarantine in Siberia after a lab worker died and Putin's government has been accused of a cover up.

Published on: Oct 5, 2026, 09:22:06 IST

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A suspected plague outbreak in Russia's Siberia has left a young lab worker dead and nearly 200 people have been put into isolation.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s government is facing accusations that it is trying to conceal the possible spread of the infection.

Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old lab assistant at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, died on Thursday. She had become very ill earlier in the week, as per reports.

As per Lyudi Baikala, she told medical staff she had accidentally broken a test tube holding live bacteria while collecting samples.

As per GB News, she was admitted to a hospital in Shelekhov on Tuesday with severe pneumonia. She was placed on a ventilator but died on Thursday.

What is the Covid-style quarantine?

According to GB News, authorities have declared a Covid-style plague quarantine in the area. A hospital in Shelekhov was quarantined. All people who had contact with Shipilova were put under medical observation.

As per The Moscow Times, Anna Popova, Russia's chief public health official, travelled about 2,600 miles from Moscow to the Irkutsk region.

Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev refused to name the illness. He called it only "a dangerous infectious disease". He also cancelled all public events in the region.

He wrote on Telegram on Friday: “All identified contact persons have been placed under medical observation. As of today, the contacts show no signs of illness, and their laboratory test results are negative.”

Why are there cover-up claims?

Russian political insider channel Nezygar warned: “The situation in Shelekhov, Irkutsk region, where a plague quarantine has been declared, resembles the Wuhan case.”

By “Wuhan case”, he meant COVID-19 that began in Wuhan, China and killed more than 7 million people, based on global health estimates.

As per The Moscow Times, Russian epidemiologist Mikhal Favorov questioned the story about the broken test tube. He viewed it as a possible sign of a cover-up.

"It's laughable," Favorov said. “Someone working at the anti-plague Institute in Irkutsk wears a protective anti-plague suit. If you break a test tub, the likelihood of infection is actually very low. In short, It doesn't matter to the general public – they'll believe the ‘dropped test tube story.’”

Favorov said Anna Popova's visit suggested that the situation was serious. "It's absolutely hair-raising," he said.

He added, “We will not be told what really happened.”

Has plague been confirmed?

No. Russian health authorities have not confirmed that Shipilova had plague.

Russia's public health agency said Shipilova had "pneumonia of unknown etiology." Further testing found no microorganisms linked to her work.

Russian media reports suggested Shipilova may have contracted pneumonic plague, but the diagnosis has not been confirmed yet.

What is plague?

As per NY Post, plague is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium. The disease killed tens of millions of people in the medieval Black Death. The three main forms are bubonic, pneumonic and septicemic plague.

The symptoms can include fever, headache, chills, weakness, shortness of breath and coughing. All forms can be treated with antibiotics, especially if treatment starts early.

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