US Embassy urges Americans to leave Russia after Siberian lab worker dies
The United States Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert on Tuesday urging Americans to leave Russia immediately following the death of a laboratory worker in Siberia, citing limited ability to assist citizens if the crisis escalates. The warning follows reports of hospitals being placed in quarantine. The deceased was Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old researcher at a plague institute in the Irkutsk region who allegedly broke a test tube containing the bacteria that causes pneumonic plague. Russian authorities have not officially confirmed she was infected, while around 200 people are reportedly in quarantine and five hospitals have closed. The U.S. State Department has sent a formal diplomatic request to Russian officials for clarification, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Russia to share more information. The World Health Organization assessed the risk outside Russia as "very low," and President Donald Trump said he plans to discuss the matter with President Vladimir Putin.