WASHINGTON — The CIA has been warning the White House since at least early February that China has vastly understated its coronavirus infections and that its count could not be relied upon as the United States compiles predictive models to fight the virus, according to current and former intelligence officials.
But U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the Chinese government itself does not know the extent of the virus and is as blind as the rest of the world. Midlevel bureaucrats in the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, and elsewhere in China have been lying about infection rates, testing and death counts, fearful that if they report numbers that are too high they will be punished, lose their position or worse, current and former intelligence officials said.
Bloomberg News first reported the CIA’s assessment that China was underreporting its virus diagnoses and deaths. Officials played down a revelation about an intelligence report sent last week to the White House, saying that the CIA has for several weeks told White House officials not to trust the numbers that Beijing was handing to the World Health Organization.
For example, China has not been reporting the number of asymptomatic cases it is aware of. As many as 25% of people who contract the virus may not show signs of it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said.
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