Gamers are celebrating the suspected outbreak of the Black Death in Russia, with many hoping it will trigger another lockdown just in time for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19. Social media users have flooded platforms with memes, claiming the potential outbreak has arrived at the perfect moment for the highly anticipated game's launch.
The excitement follows the closure of five hospitals in Siberia for quarantine after a woman reportedly died from contracting the plague. Around 200 people believed to have come into contact with the deceased victim have also been quarantined and are under observation.
Lockdown hopes amid pandemic fears
Despite concerns that a Black Death pandemic could cause millions of deaths globally, many gamers are focusing on the potential upside of another lockdown. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, the gaming industry experienced a massive surge in players, engagement times, and digital sales, despite hardware shortages and development delays.
Gamers have taken to the social media site X to celebrate the possibility of another lockdown coinciding with the release of GTA VI. One user stated they would be "grinding GTA VI all winter because some Russians weren't careful enough," while another added: "A COVID 2 emerging in Russia right alongside the GTA 6 launch."
Fears over game's release date
Some gamers, however, are worried the outbreak could disrupt the game's launch. One user wrote: "Russian plague hitting a month before gta 6 releases, of course we weren't ever getting that game, son."
The recent fears were sparked by the death of Darya Shipilova, 28, who reportedly broke a test tube containing live Yersinia pestis at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute. Yersinia pestis is the bacterium that causes the plague. The Black Death, one of the worst pandemics in human history, ravaged Europe between 1346 and 1353, killing an estimated 50 million people.
Symptoms and treatment
According to the UK Health Security Agency, symptoms of the plague include fever, headache, weakness, and rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, and coughing. Patients also often cough up bloody or watery mucus. Symptoms generally develop between one and seven days after infection.
Without treatment, pneumonic plague is usually deadly. However, the disease is caused by bacteria rather than a virus and can be successfully treated with antibiotics if caught quickly. Numerous US politicians are now calling for commercial air travel from Russia to be stopped due to fears the suspected outbreak may spread.
