Possible pneumonic plague in Russia: The Trump administration urges US citizens to leave the country and maintains its travel advisory

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump's administration once again urged U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to Russia and called on those currently in the country to leave immediately, while authorities are monitoring a possible case of pneumonic plague in Siberia that, according to several reports, caused the death of a woman and led to the implementation of quarantine measures in the Irkutsk region. The U.S. government also warned that it has limited capacity to assist its citizens in Russia, especially outside Moscow, while Russian authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a 28-year-old laboratory worker in that region.

"The U.S. Embassy is aware of press reports from the Irkutsk region of suspected pneumonic plague resulting in the death of an individual and of associated quarantine measures in, and closures of, hospitals in Irkutsk. We continue to track the situation closely. The U.S. government has limited ability to help U.S. citizens in Russia, especially outside of Moscow," the Department of State said via its X account, adding that "The State Department's Level 4 travel warning (Do Not Travel) for Russia remains in place and states that U.S. citizens currently in Russia should leave immediately."

President Donald Trump had already expressed concern about the case reported the day before and stated that his administration was closely monitoring the situation. According to reports, the infected woman worked at an institute dedicated to combating the plague. The Russian consumer protection agency reported on Sunday that she died of "pneumonia of unknown etiology."

From Iceland, the first stop on his European tour, Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russian authorities on Monday to provide "more information" on this matter that is of interest "to the whole world," while also calling for "transparency" from Vladimir Putin. "I think, obviously, it is up to Russia to share more information with the world," the secretary of state said.

Before leaving for Iceland, Rubio confirmed that the Trump administration is aware of the situation in Russia and is closely monitoring developments because something like this "can break out and spread quickly."