China cleans, stores banknotes to stop virus spread

Officials say banks are using ultraviolet light or high temperatures to disinfect yuan bills and are then sealing and storing the cash for seven to 14 days. Image: Shutterstock

The mainland is disinfecting and isolating used banknotes as part of efforts to stop the spread of the new coronavirus that has killed more than 1,500 people, officials said on Saturday.



Banks use ultraviolet light or high temperatures to disinfect yuan bills, then seal and store the cash for seven to 14 days – depending on the severity of the outbreak in a particular region – before recirculating them, the central bank said at a press conference.



Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China said that banks have been urged to provide new banknotes to customers whenever possible.



The central bank made an "emergency issuance" of four billion yuan in new notes to Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, prior to the recent Lunar New Year holiday, Fan added.



The measures are intended to "secure the public's safety and health when using cash", he said.



But it is unclear how wide an impact the central bank's disinfection work will have, with increasing numbers of mainland people preferring mobile payments over cash in recent years.



In 2017, nearly three quarters of Chinese respondents told an Ipsos survey they could survive a whole month without using more than 100 yuan in cash.



According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 can be spread through contaminated objects in addition to droplets and direct contact with infected patients. (AFP)