I guess what matters here is the definition of "top scientists". Because those are a bit more limited and if they would be really dying on both sides in growing numbers in suspicious cases - then a uncomforting explanation would be a secret dirty war going on behind the scenes. It was no secret that Israel killed top Iran scientists routinely. But if US and China would engage with that, it would be disturbing. But so far I don't see the data for it.
As I say elsewhere, don't shoot the messenger. This story has been getting a lot of publicity.
In the scheme of things, scientists are a lot less common in any society than, say, waiting staff or groundskeepers. Nuclear physicists are not common – I have met one or two in my time, and they were clearly way above the average in terms of personal intelligence, mathematical ability etc. I've met far more medical researchers. The same would apply to certain other scientific fields.
Lab assistants are more common than experts in any scientific field, and the main questions we should be asking here are which areas of scientific research etc they worked in, and how technically qualified they were.