Mohamed Salah
Chinese banks began to sterilize the money and prevent its circulation two weeks ago to make sure that it is safe. The US Federal Reserve also made efforts to make sure that the securities were not contaminated and slowed their circulation cycle for 7 to 10 days, which the Central Bank of Korea did and withdraw the banknotes. From trading for two weeks. In Iran, banks have refused to accept money from customers, according to the British Daily Mail.
The British Telegraph newspaper advised citizens on the second of this month, through the spokesman of the World Health Organization, to avoid touching their faces before washing their hands and using disinfectants whenever they use the money, and only using remote payment methods to avoid infection of the Corona virus.
But despite public health experts stressing that the risk of transmission of the virus through it remains small. This is supported by Julie Fischer, a professor at Georgetown University, by saying "there may be effects of the virus on coins, but hand washing provides you with adequate protection." Are they harmful before and after the appearance of the Corona virus?
Money and Corona virus
Since Corona was discovered, no scientific studies have determined whether the virus is spread through all kinds of coins. However, corona - like other coronavirus that causes respiratory infections in humans and remains on the surfaces of objects for several days - may enter the body through the mouth or nose when a person touches his face after using contaminated money.
In a recent review of 22 scientific studies, it was found that "human coronaviruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) or persistent coronavirus, can persist on rigid surfaces such as metals, glass, or plastics even 9 days. "
A 2003 study on a SARS strain showed coronavirus viruses staying up to 72 hours on "newsprint" and 96 hours on "fabrics". Given the structural similarities between coronaviruses, this may also apply to the new coronavirus.
The ruined face of money
Money has another destructive aspect of health. Every stock carries thousands of bacteria that pass easily from person to person, says a study published by the Wall Street Journal in April 2014, conducted by researchers at New York University who analyzed 68 securities, and discovered that 5 of them carried bacteria. The healthiest individuals may develop various diseases, compared to 59 other papers contaminated with bacteria that can infect the weak immune individual with cancer or AIDS, while only 4 leaves contain a lower percentage of bacteria.
Another study showed that viruses live on coins for up to 17 days if they are accompanied by mucus, and researchers at the Metropolitan University of London revealed that banknotes and coins are often contaminated with germs, bacteria and insects that have been transferred from people who are not interested in washing their hands properly after going to the toilet.
Biologist Professor Paul Matuili confirmed that his research team was able to watch the growth of bacteria for two months on 36 random samples of currencies, noting that "dealing with dirty money is more dangerous for people with weak immunity", warning against carrying cash when visiting patients. They are vulnerable to infection with bacteria that fight antibiotics. "
Therefore, doctors emphasize the removal of hands from the mouth, nose and eyes after any handling of money, whether paper or mineral, with constant washing of hands on a regular basis to prevent the transmission of pathogenic bacteria.
The fate of liquid money
In the near future, according to the British Economist, cash will catch up with many things from the past, such as radios, typewriters and cassette tapes, and future generations will stand up to see changes after financial transactions become fully electronic, despite fears of personal data theft and cyber fraud.
At the top of the countries that topped the list of the best non-monetary countries in the world until 2017, Canada, Sweden, England, France, the United States, China, and Australia came.
In Sweden, for example, credit cards and mobile payment are prevalent everywhere, until cash handling rates have decreased by 80% during the past ten years, with most banks and businesses refusing to deal in cash. Likewise, cash is no longer receiving much attention in the Netherlands, as more and more Dutch shopkeepers only deal with bank debit cards because they are "cleaner" or "safer".
Despite the Economist’s expectations, the bank’s chief counselor for the Dutch central bank, Michel van Duyfern, said that “the currency has become a dinosaur, but it will remain”, of course it will remain what meets the need of people in remote areas, deprived of Internet services, poor, simple and homeless Who do not have the luxury of technology.