Whether COVID-19 virus can emerge as a threat and a weapon to target the world leaders? The International police organization, commonly known as Interpol, said 'yes' and shocked the world through its warning that the virus could emerge as a threat to target political leaders in several countries and asked the law enforcement agencies of the member countries to tighten the measures and security around the leaders. 

The latest warning from the global agency is concerned about the 'COVID-infected letters' and the warning has been sent to 194 member countries including India that there are possibilities that such contaminated letters could be sent to the political letters and individuals targeting and infecting them to the virus, for which the entire world is racing to discover the vaccine and a drug to cure the pandemic. 

Interpol said that such letters could make the leaders more vulnerable to the virus. The agency has issued a warning in its latest set of guidelines and said that this could represent a risk if these individuals are infected with COVID-19. Issuing the shocking warning, Interpol has highlighted the reports of how the pandemic has become weaponry in threatening and intimidating others. 

Interpol has cited the reports of individuals deliberately spitting and coughing in the faces of law enforcement officers, health practitioners, and essential workers to intimidate them. It also said that attempts of deliberate contamination by spitting and coughing on surfaces and objects have been reported, signaling that in a way to target the world leaders, the threat could go to the next level through such COVID-infected letters. 

Apart from the political leaders, Interpol said that such contaminated letters could also target the individuals, largely vulnerable groups. Following the warning, the global agency had issued the mechanisms and precautions that can be implemented by the security agencies of the respective countries. It had instructed people who are in charge of securing political leaders and public figures to aware of these risks. 

The security personnel have been asked to wear PPE kits while approaching the unknown individuals while the postal departments have been instructed to put the postal packages under tight security and they should be aware of biological threats posed by the suspicious packages and they should follow measures to identify such contaminated letters. 

Issuing the warning, on one hand, Interpol, on the other hand, hasn't highlighted any precise and specific instances where such infected letters were sent to any world leaders. According to reports, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has earlier alerted the police and other security agencies about the input from the global agency on the warning about mobsters who are marketing fake hand sanitizers and racketing from people under the guise of supplying the COVID-19 related medical items including PPEs. 

Interpol warning has revealed that COVID-19, from being the global threat, has now become a weapon to attack and destroy the adversaries in a form of contaminating the surfaces and objects or letters and infecting the world leaders and individuals and making them become more vulnerable to the pandemic.