Source: Fox News
Summary
President Donald Trump said he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon” as the U.S. tracks reports of a suspected pneumonic plague death in Siberia. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert about the case, and the State Department said it is monitoring the situation. Trump mentioned the call during a press briefing, saying he had “very deep discussions” with U.S. intelligence agencies. The incident has led to heightened health precautions in several countries bordering Russia. Russian officials have not confirmed the death was due to plague, and the WHO has assessed the risk to the general population as low.
Our Reading
As expected, the matter has reached another stage.
Trump says he will speak with Putin soon.
U.S. officials track a suspected plague death in Siberia.
Embassy issues health alert, State Department monitors situation.
Plague risk assessed as low, but precautions rise anyway.
Author: Evan Null
Trump’s Planned Call with Putin
President Donald Trump announced he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin “very soon” as the U.S. tracks reports of a suspected pneumonic plague death in Siberia. The call was mentioned during a press briefing, with Trump confirming it was scheduled. The White House has not yet commented on the planned conversation.
Trump said his administration was in “very deep discussions” about the situation, though he did not provide further details. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a health alert about the case, and the State Department said it is monitoring the situation closely. The incident has led to heightened health precautions in several countries bordering Russia.
Russian officials have not confirmed the death was due to plague, and the WHO has assessed the risk to the general population as low. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also said it is closely monitoring the reports and working across the U.S. government as additional information becomes available.
The 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute died last week from what Russian authorities described as pneumonia of undetermined origin. Russia has not said the woman died of plague and said testing found no microorganisms in her body linked to her work. Russian officials told the WHO that her contacts tested negative for dangerous infectious pathogens.
The CDC has said there is currently no indication of a broader threat to the United States. For now, U.S. officials are continuing to seek additional information about what occurred in Irkutsk and whether the incident poses any wider threat. Trump suggested his administration could have more to say as soon as Wednesday.
