TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Chinese preoccupy themselves with ways to kill off the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) and attempt to prevent its spread, a woman in eastern China badly charred over 3,000 Chinese yuan worth of bills after cooking them in the microwave.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to rage across China, many people worry that widely circulated banknotes have become a hotbed for the virus. CNN reports that all Chinese banks are now using ultraviolet light and high temperatures to disinfect their cash.

In an attempt to "disinfect' her money, a woman surnamed Li (李) living in Jiangsu Province decided to place 3,125 Chinese yuan (US$450) into a microwave, reported TVBS. Within less than a minute, the woman began to smell something burning inside.

By the time she popped open the microwave, it was too late. Most of the bills had been blackened and carbonized, making them impossible to use at all.

Desperate, the woman rushed to a nearby bank for help. However, because the banknotes were so mangled, the currency counting machines could no longer distinguish the bills.

The bank teller had to identify and count each bill individually, one by one. After spending the entire afternoon sifting through the woman's charred cash, the bank gave her brand new bills, according to the report.