Afraid of catching Covid infection from currency notes? Here’s what latest research suggests

Even as close to two years have passed since the disease Covid-19 first entered the world, answers to questions like how Covid spreads, whom it can infect continue to be debated. Cash or money was feared as one of the most insidious carriers of Coronavirus during the early phase of Coronavirus giving a dream-like spurt to digital money wallets but a recent research has highlighted that there are very less chances of virus spreading from cash. The study which was conducted by the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany in collaboration with a few experts from the European Central Bank has found that under natural conditions the risk of contracting the disease from cash is extremely low, the Indian Express reported.

How did the researchers reach this conclusion?
As part of the research, a large number of Euro coins and coins were treated with varying concentrations of virus. Side by side, the researchers also treated the stainless steel with the same virus solutions. The results revealed that while the stainless steel still had traces of virus after the passage of seven days, the virus did not survive on the 10-euro banknote after three days. Similarly, traces of the virus ceased to last on the 10-cent, 1-euro, and 5-cent coins after six days, two days and one hour, respectively.

Daniel Todt who was one of the lead authors of the research was quoted as saying that the rapid decline on the 5-cent coin was on account of its Copper material which is one of the least suitable elements for the survival of viruses. Similarly, the researchers also experimented with touching the contaminated currency notes and coins with Coronavirus as part of another experiment. The researchers concluded that under natural conditions there were very less chances of the virus spreading from the currency notes or coins.

Several experts have reiterated that the most common route for rapid transmission of Coronavirus is through the air droplets or aerosols emitted from an infected patient.