Quarantine has been introduced in Irkutsk hospitals after the death of an anti-plague institute employee
Rospotrebnadzor states that pneumonia was the cause of death, and the epidemiological situation is "stable."
Quarantine introduced in Irkutsk hospitals following the death of an anti-plague institute employee
The publication "Lyudi Baikala" reported that a three-week quarantine began in several hospitals in Irkutsk on October 4. According to journalists, clinical hospitals No. 1, 3, and 10 in the city, as well as the Ivano-Matreninskaya Children's Hospital, have been closed. In addition, an expecting family told the publication that a quarantine had also been introduced in one of the maternity hospitals in Irkutsk.
According to the publication's source in the healthcare sector, Irkutsk doctors are "already openly talking about the plague," but this diagnosis is not recorded in the documents arriving at the hospitals. "When pneumonic plague spreads, selective quarantine is not applied – restrictions are introduced in all medical institutions simultaneously," "Lyudi Baikala" quotes its source as saying.
Shortly after the "Lyudi Baikala" report, Rospotrebnadzor issued a statement. The agency announced that "the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region, the cities of Irkutsk and Shelekhov is stable" and reported that "special comprehensive measures" had been organized and carried out.
Such measures were taken because an employee of the anti-plague institute in Irkutsk contracted "pneumonia of unidentified etiology." Rospotrebnadzor specifically emphasized that "microorganisms related to her professional activity" were not found in the body of the deceased woman.
On October 3, a mask mandate was introduced at the Irkutsk Aluminum Smelter in Shelekhov. The plant's director, Artyom Fomin, called this a preventive measure. "God protects those who protect themselves – observe precautionary measures," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
A few days earlier, 28-year-old patient Darya Shipilova died in one of the hospitals in Shelekhov (a satellite city of Irkutsk) (journalists established that she worked as a laboratory assistant at the anti-plague institute). She was brought to the hospital on September 29, and she passed away two days later. At that time, two versions of the incident were mentioned in the media.
According to one version, Shipilova was hospitalized with a diagnosis of pneumonic plague after returning from Thailand. According to another version, she accidentally broke a test tube containing the plague pathogen. Rospotrebnadzor, however, stated that no emergency involving pathogenic microorganisms had occurred at the institute.
At the same time, the authorities of the Irkutsk region have not made statements about the patient's death, nor about the possibility of her contracting the plague. Governor Igor Kobzev announced on October 2 that he had held a meeting with Russia's Chief Sanitary Doctor Anna Popova (who personally flew to Irkutsk) and said that this was prompted by "information spread about a resident of the region contracting an extremely dangerous infection."