Rubio demands transparency from Russia regarding death of lab worker from the plague
The Kremlin denied that it had imposed severe health and epidemiological restrictions, as stated in an alleged leaked official document.
Marco Rubio at a press conference during his trip to Iceland. Oct. 6, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke again about the case of the death of a Russian lab worker who contracted the plague while on the job and demanded answers from the Kremlin.
From Reykjavík, Iceland, the first stop on his European tour, Rubio urged the Russian authorities to provide "more information" on this matter that concerns "the world," while calling on Vladimir Putin to be "transparent."
"I think it's incumbent upon Russia to obviously 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, closely following everything that is happening because something like this "could certainly spread."
"There’s very limited travel between the U.S. and Russia, obviously. But like anything else, something like that gets out it could certainly spread. ... So we’re watching and monitoring it closely. I don’t think it’s cause for alarm but it is cause for focus and a cause just to keep an eye on it," the secretary of state said on Monday, minutes before boarding the plane that took him to Europe.
Russia denies imposing restrictions in Irkutsk
In response to reports that have emerged in recent hours, the Kremlin denied having imposed severe restrictions or health and epidemiological measures due to this case.
"The document and information in question do not originate from official sources and are untrue," said Russian consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, referring to an alleged leaked guide outlining the measures taken.
"No such decisions have been made at this time. The epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region remains stable," it added, in statements reported by AFP.
The victim, identified as Daria Shipilova, aged about 28, acknowledged before her death that she accidentally broke a test tube containing live plague bacteria while working in a laboratory located in the city of Shelekhov, Irkutsk. After contracting the disease, she died last Thursday.
As a result of these events, regional authorities decided to quarantine hundreds of people who had contact with Shipilova after she became infected or who were working near the site of the leak. To date, none of those quarantined have shown symptoms, and test results have come back negative.
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