A woman has reportedly burnt more than £300 (RMB3,000) worth of bank notes after putting them in a microwave to “disinfect” them.

According to Chinese media, a resident of Jiangyin City in the southern Jiangsu province known only as “Aunt Li” attempted to disinfect the notes because she was worried the coronavirus was present on them.

As many people in China still use cash, Ms Li was concerned the notes had exchanged hands often, including being touched by people infected with the virus.

But after less than a minute in the microwave, the notes began to burn and had turned black.

In a panic, Ms Li took the charred notes to a nearby branch of China CITIC Bank for advice but the cash was unsalvageable, reported Sina Finance.

After carefully screening and authenticating the fragile notes, the bank was able to refund a total of RMB3,125 to Ms Li.

Speaking to Sina Finance, a spokesperson for China CITIC Bank reassured the public all cash drawn from financial institutions was “clean money” as banks have to abide by measures put in place by the People’s Bank of China in February.

Cash from “key areas of epidemic prevention and control” is subjected to ultraviolet light or high temperatures to disinfect the notes, which are then kept for seven to 14 days before being released into the market.

Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Show all 11 1 /11 Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Ben Gurion International airport, Israel Empty El Al Israel Airlines check-in counters are seen at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel February 27, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen AMIR COHEN Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing This picture taken on February 14, 2020 shows two men wearing face masks walking through a nearly empty terminal at Daxing international airport in Beijing, as travel has ground to a halt in the wake of the the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) NICOLAS ASFOURI AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan epa08238057 The empty departure hall of the No 2 Terminal at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan City, northen Taiwan, 22 February 2020. The coronavirus causing COVID-19 disease which originated from Wuhan, China, has devastated Taiwan's tourism and aviation industries, forcing airlines to cancel flights and travel agencies to lay off workers or close. EPA/DAVID CHANG DAVID CHANG EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam A woman walks in the nearly empty arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 27, 2020, as the number of air travellers has plummeted amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images) MLADEN ANTONOV AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo A man wearing protective face mask, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, pushes his luggage past desks, closed for construction, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov STOYAN NENOV Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Changsha Huanghua International Airport, China A woman wearing a face mask stands in the empty luggage collection hall at the airport in Changsha, Hunan Province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, China, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter THOMAS PETER Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China epaselect epa08194188 A passenger wearing a protective mask stands in the empty hall of Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China, 04 February 2020 (issued 05 February 2020). Major global airlines have canceled their flights to mainland China to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed at least 493 people and infected more that 24,000, mostly in China. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY ROMAN PILIPEY EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing This picture taken on February 14, 2020 shows a salesclerk wearing a protective face mask and gloves (R) at an empty duty free shop at Daxing international airport in Beijing, as travel has ground to a halt in the wake of the the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) NICOLAS ASFOURI AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo An empty departures gate is pictured at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov STOYAN NENOV Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China epa08194181 Passengers wearing protective masks sit in the empty hall of Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China, 04 February 2020 (issued 05 February 2020). Major global airlines have canceled their flights to and from mainland China to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed at least 493 people and infected more that 24,000, mostly in China. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY ROMAN PILIPEY EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam Passengers with protective facemasks walk with their luggage in the empty arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 27, 2020, as the number of air travellers has plummeted amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images) MLADEN ANTONOV AFP via Getty

“The cash passing through these processes are very safe,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying. “Despite this, the general public is encouraged to make payments through contactless methods such as bar code payment and credit card payment to the greatest extent possible to block the risk of epidemic transmission.”