‘Not like coronavirus’: Mystery shrouds Russian lab technician’s death, some residents fear plague, others remain calm

AS the death of 28-year-old Darya Shipilova, a Russian lab technician, remains shrouded in mystery, residents of Shelekhov – where Shipilova died in the hospital Friday – and the nearby cities of Irkutsk and Angarsk told CNN that they don't trust public announcements.

Russian authorities blamed the October 2 death of the woman, whom news outlets identified as Darya Shipilova, on "pneumonic plague", which can spread from person to person. Shipilova was a lab technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute.

Russian authorities have kept a tight lid on information about the case. The country's health and consumer watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said the woman contracted pneumonia of “unknown” origin and that her tests were negative for the pathogens she worked with.

The statement didn’t provide details about what exactly caused the woman’s pneumonia and what kind of pathogens she worked with.

The Associated Press quoted Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev as saying that the woman had “community-acquired” pneumonia — a type of pneumonia contracted outside of a hospital setting. She had been “vaccinated and immune" to the pathogens she worked with at the institute, he said.

'We don’t trust...There are a lot of rumors'

Six days after the news broke – and with no official confirmation that Shipilova died of plague, amid calls from the World Health Organisation and the United States for more information – the situation appears to have prompted both resignation and scepticism, CNN reported.

One 36-year-old resident, Evgeniya, told CNN that everything feels “normal, as if nothing had happened.” She said she isn’t panicking, but said a friend who works as a pharmacist told her that people had been stocking up on antibiotics when rumours of plague emerged.

Despite the Kremlin repeatedly urging people to rely only on the agency's updates, Evgeniya said most people she knows didn’t trust the agency's public statements.

“There is no official information, and we don’t trust it anyway. There are a lot of rumours, but what is actually happening remains unclear,” she was quoted as saying.

Besides, an unnamed Russian clinician who spoke to independent news outlet Lyudi Baikala (“People of Baikal”), which led the way on coverage of the case, was unconvinced, though, by the Russian health watchdog’s statement that the lab worker’s illness was “unrelated to her professional activities.”

Citing the need for laboratory confirmation to take up to 10 days, he was quoted as saying, “It is impossible to definitively identify the pathogen just one day after the autopsy.”

‘Things are not bad at all’

On the contrary, others said, “Things are not bad at all." Ekaterina, 26, told CNN she didn’t see any need for concern as everyone who had been in contact with the lab worker had been isolated.

“People are not giving in to panic and are carrying on with their lives as usual,” she was quoted as saying.

“It’s the 21st century now, and there is treatment for plague. This is not like coronavirus, which was something unknown to people. The outlook is much better. So, to sum it all up: Everything is fine. We are following safety measures and not giving in to the madness,” Ekaterina added.

Meanwhile, a pharmacist in Irkutsk said that on Saturday there had been a run on “masks, antiseptics, and tetracycline antibiotics” where she worked, with people stocking up “just in case.”

“People were, of course, afraid of getting infected,” the 27-year-old told CNN. “There is no panic now. It only lasted for one day. We are not seeing it anymore. Everything is just as quiet and calm," she added.

Alina, 38, told CNN the situation is “ordinary”, other than increased coverage across social media platforms, which she dismissed as “panic and has nothing to do with reality.”

When the authorities came to disinfect

Residents cited in Lyudi Baikala said that, on Friday night, three vehicles pulled up to an apartment block believed to be where the deceased lab worker lived in Irkutsk.

They claimed personnel wearing gas masks and orange suits emerged from the vehicles carrying several containers and began disinfecting the entrances.

“The smell was unbearable and very acrid,” a resident of the building — a woman in her 40s – told the outlet.

The team that arrived reportedly told residents the health watchdog had sent them.

“We asked what had happened. [The personnel] told us: a young woman had died of a deadly virus, but they didn’t know anything else. They said, ‘We showed up for work, were told to go and disinfect the place, so we came and did it,’” the woman was quoted as saying.

CNN or Mint could not independently verify the account of disinfection at the apartment block.

'My daughter's not buried yet'

Svetlana Shipilova – who was also in quarantine in an Irkutsk hospital – told local media outlet Glubina that her daughter hasn’t been buried yet.

“After all, who would bury her when we’re sitting here in detention? She was such a hard worker. A pure, such a pure soul,” she was quoted as saying.