The handling of euro banknotes poses "no risk of major infection" to the new coronavirus compared to other surfaces, assured a senior executive of the European Central Bank on Tuesday. The ECB has carried out research with several European laboratories, from which it appears that "coronaviruses can survive on a stainless steel surface (a door handle for example) ten to a hundred times longer than on our cotton fiber banknotes" , writes Fabio Panetta, member of the institute's executive board, in an article published in several European newspapers, including Les Echos .
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"Other analyzes show that viruses are more difficult to spread through porous surfaces like that of our banknotes than through smooth surfaces like plastic," added the central banker. His conclusion is that "the tickets therefore do not pose any major risk of infection compared to other surfaces with which we are in daily contact". The article does not, however, address the issue of the risk of contamination associated with coins, struck by mixing several metals including steel and zinc.
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In China, the country's central bank announced in February that it would use ultraviolet light to disinfect the banknotes of any coronavirus. The ECB is also exploring "new avenues" in favor of issuing a "digital euro (...) which could be used by intermediaries, or even directly by consumers" on their mobile devices when settling their bills. daily expenses, adds Fabio Panetta.