Russian spin doctors are scrambling to suppress plague fears after a female lab worker died from a mysterious illness.
The Kremlin is begging the public to turn a blind eye to mounting horror stories of a deadly plague outbreak in Siberia, insisting everyone trust official health bureaucrats who claim there is nothing to see here.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov implored citizens to rely exclusively on state propaganda rather than terrifying reports swirling across the region.
Panic ignited after a female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute died in a hospital in the nearby city of Shelekhov. Local news outlets immediately reported that she had contracted pneumonic plague, but the state watchdog agency, Rospotrebnadzor, rushed out an official statement claiming the cause of death was merely “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”
Despite government assurances that everything remains under control, local authorities accidentally let the mask slip. Shelekhov officials posted a stark social media warning urging residents to avoid all travel to the city, then deleted the post shortly afterward.
Independent news outlet People of Baikal revealed that several hospitals in Irkutsk were slapped with sudden quarantine orders, while officials refused to confirm or deny the shutdowns.
International intelligence agencies are taking the threat seriously, with U.S. and EU authorities confirming they are aware of a possible plague outbreak and are “closely monitoring” developments in the Irkutsk region.
The officials said the situation has been further complicated by Russian authorities’ reluctance to share information, along with reports of Russian intelligence officers’ involvement.
“We don’t have a lot of intel,” one U.S. health official told the Washington Post. “It’s in Siberia. Unless someone gets on a plane and gets to the U.S., it is low risk. We should be alert but not panicked.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, State Department, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and other agencies are looking into the death, as well as quarantines imposed at several hospitals in Siberia, four officials told The Washington Post on condition of anonymity to discuss internal briefings.
The bungled cover-up attempt forced Vladimir Putin’s chief spokesperson into full damage-control mode, as he scrambled to assure Russians that state health inspectors are total experts who shouldn’t be questioned.
“The leading agency with expertise in this area is Rospotrebnadzor,” Peskov insisted during a press briefing. “We should rely on Rospotrebnadzor’s official statements, without listening to rumors, speculation, and so on. Rospotrebnadzor is staffed by highly qualified professionals in this field.”
Peskov hammered the point home, practically begging citizens to ignore their own eyes and ears as wild rumors swept social media platforms.
“Rospotrebnadzor is home to highly qualified professionals in this field,” the Kremlin spokesman urged. “Let’s listen to their official statements.”
Following the PR disaster, Rospotrebnadzor released new findings claiming the sanitary and epidemiological situation across the region remains completely stable.
Health officials doubled down on their story, repeating that the deceased woman whose illness panicked the entire local press was simply struck down by “pneumonia of unknown etiology.”
