China Is Heating-Cleaning Currency Notes With UV Light To Stop Coronavirus, And It Makes Sense
It is no news that the Wuhan Coronavirus spreads from human contact, as well as germs accumulated on commonly used surfaces -- and a currency note can actually be dirtier than you could have ever imagined.
Right now, the entire world is watching the sheer intensity at which the Wuhan Coronavirus is spreading in China.
The novel Coronavirus has claimed over 1500 lives with over 67,000 confirmed cases as of now, and China's taking an important step to stop its spread -- by cleansing currency notes.
Reuters
No matter how much the Chinese authorities are trying to contain the novel coronavirus, nothing seems to be working for them. And in a recent press conference, the Chinese authorities revealed that to take this further, they¡¯re going to clean their currency.
It is no news that the Wuhan Coronavirus spreads from human contact, as well as germs accumulated on commonly used surfaces -- and a currency note can actually be dirtier than you could have ever imagined.
Can bacteria/virus spread using currency notes?
A research conducted by Julia M. Martiz, Centre for Genomics and Systems Biology at NYU in a 2017 study revealed that $1 bills in New York possessed over 397 species of bacteria on it -- and if someone in flu came in contact with it, the virus could easily survive on it for up to 12 days.
Researchers have still not been able to find how long the Wuhan Coronavirus survives on a particular surface. Current data has revealed that it can survive at least for a few hours however it can be easily killed using common disinfectants.
Reuters
According to Fan Yifei, People¡¯s Bank of China¡¯s deputy governor, ¡°Money from key virus-hit areas will be sanitized with ultraviolet rays or heated and locked up for at least 14 days, before it is distributed again.¡± They have also introduced fresh cash worth 600 billion yuan for locations like Hubei -- the epicentre for the coronavirus.
Authorities are also asking people to separate cash from hospitals and food markets.
Reuters
People in China are under a tight lockdown. With hospitals getting overcrowded with patients, authorities are forced to create quarantine camps using tents, to treat the newly infected.
The fight with the Wuhan Coronavirus hasn¡¯t been easy for the doctors and medical practitioners, with many getting severe skin burn from decontamination using bleach-based disinfectants. Many are also getting scars near nose and cheeks after constantly wearing tight face masks for hours.
