Coronavirus has turning into an international threat. This is why US intelligence agencies are monitoring its global spread. They are also having a watch on the ability of governments to respond. Sources from the agencies who are familiar with the matter said on Thursday that there are concerns about how India would cope with a widespread outbreak.
While there are only a few known cases in India, one source said the country’s available countermeasures and the potential for the virus to spread given India’s dense population was a focus of serious concern. US intelligence agencies are also focusing on Iran, where the country’s deputy health minister has fallen ill during a worsening outbreak.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States was “deeply concerned” Tehran may have covered up details about the spread of coronavirus. A US government source said Iran’s response was considered ineffective because the government only has minimal capabilities to respond to the outbreak. Another source said US agencies were also concerned about the weak ability of governments in some developing countries to respond to an outbreak.
The US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has received a briefing on the virus from the spy agencies. “The Committee has received a briefing from the IC (intelligence community) on coronavirus, and continues to receive updates on the outbreak on a daily basis,” an official of the House Intelligence Committee told to news agency.
“Addressing the threat has both national security and economic dimensions, requiring a concerted government-wide effort and the IC is playing an important role in monitoring the spread of the outbreak, and the worldwide response,” the official added.
A source familiar with the activities of the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republican Senator Richard Burr and Democratic Senator Mark Warner, said the panel was receiving daily updates. The role of US intelligence agencies in responding to the coronavirus epidemic at this point principally involves monitoring the spread of the illness around the world and assessing the responses of governments.
They are working closely with health agencies, such as the US Center for Disease Control, in sharing information they collect and targeting further intelligence gathering. One source said US agencies would use a wide range of intelligence tools, ranging from undercover informants to electronic eavesdropping tools, to track the virus’ impact.
According to a report published in The Print, India has confirmed just three cases, while the Indian government says 23,531 people are under observation. Neighboring Sri Lanka has reported one infection, while Pakistan disclosed its first patients this week: Two travelers who had separately returned from Iran, one of whom had been on a tour with 28 people.
While India’s numbers look tiny set against a population of 1.3 billion, the World Health Organisation has warned that new cases are appearing faster outside China than those within the country where the virus originated. The discovery in the US of a case with no ties to a known outbreak has raised concern that a similar emergence in a country as densely populated as India could quickly overwhelm the chronically underfunded health-care-system.
“It’s already here, they’ve detected a few cases, and if it starts spreading you will see a very fast evolution”, said Kasisomayajula Viswanath, a professor at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health. “Right now they are able to control it, and monitor it, and treat it effectively. But if it is spreading also with other contagious diseases that are already here, then it becomes a matter of consicerable concern.”
Apart from its sheer size, India is cause for particular worry because of the density of its population: 420 people live on each square kilometre (about 0.4 of a square mile), compared with 148 per square kilometre in China. Places like Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, or even a typical Indian household containing extended families, can faclilitate contact with virus-bearing droplets emitted by breathing, talking, coughing or sneezing.
