The Central Bank of Armenia has announced that it will gradually replace old banknotes with new ones to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The bank urged the population to use cashless payments and electronic banking services whenever possible. The message was posted on the CBA website.
Eight cases of the new coronavirus were reported in Armenia on Friday. It all started with the World Health Organization (WHO) stating that since the new coronavirus can remain on the surfaces of objects, there was a possibility that it could be found on banknotes that had been touched by infected people.
Germany’s central bank disagrees, saying there is currently no indication or evidence that the coronavirus is spreading through euro banknotes. Compared to other surfaces, the chances of this happening are minimal, according to the Bundesbank. Lothar Wieler, head of the German institute named after Robert Koch, agrees. The institute deals with the study of infectious diseases. “Banknote transmission is not relevant,” he said in an interview with Reuters, adding that the virus spreads through droplets.
However, some countries are already taking precautionary measures with regard to banknotes. For example, as of February 21, the Federal Reserve of the United States will quarantine banknotes from Asian countries for 7 or 10 days. The Chinese authorities have ordered all financial institutions to disinfect all incoming banknotes and then store them in a dry place for a week. The central bank is also treating the notes with ultraviolet lamps or placing them in special ovens. In addition, new banknotes are being printed and old ones are being withdrawn from circulation. The authorities in South Korea and Hungary also place the banknotes received from the banks in special ovens where they are held for several seconds at a temperature of up to 150 degrees Celsius. The temperature is then lowered to 42 degrees, and the banknotes are packaged and disinfected. The Iranian government is also urging people to avoid the banknotes.
Michael Knight, an associate professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine, said in an interview with CNBC that you can get the coronavirus, just like any other flu, by touching your mouth, nose or eyes with your hands, and that is why it is important to wash your hands frequently.
Properly washed hands reduce the risk of contracting any type of infection, including coronavirus. In addition, the associate professor adds, if you want to use only an electronic card and thus avoid physical money transactions, you can still potentially be infected by the card or terminal. Epidemiologists warn people that it pays to thoroughly clean and disinfect their cell phones, for example. People touch them an average of 2500 times a day, and the average number of bacteria on a teenager’s phone is about 17,000. But it’s best to wash your hands as often as possible.
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