Banks Should Disinfect Paper Money

Namibia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been impressive – the declaration of a state of emergency, the lockdown of the two regions, the ban on public gatherings and the buying and selling of alcohol, making the wearing of masks mandatory in public, and disinfecting informal markets before they were reopened.

All these efforts will significantly reduce the spread of the new coronavirus from person to person.

But what if there is another source of transmission so subtle that it appears benign?

Many sources have confirmed the virus can last on many different surfaces for a number of hours or days.

“Money serves as a fomite, an inanimate vehicle by which pathogens can be spread,” says Charles Bailey, medical director for infection prevention at Providence St Joseph Health.

Some studies found the virus can last on paper for up to four days and between three and seven days on metal surfaces.

These facts alone can be a cause for concern when one takes into consideration that materials most used by human beings on a daily basis are paper and metal

Specifically the printed paper we use in our daily transactions concerns me.

It is known by many names: chelette, moola, bingana, oshako, or as Agogo Skuza would say, “the moooney’.

It usually comes in the form of minted coins and bank-printed paper notes we get from ATMs or bank counters. It is safely kept in purses, wallets or pockets every day – or at least until we are broke.

If you have a note or coin right now, take it out of your wallet and look at it: That coin or note in your hand has been around the country – if not the continent – and has travelled to your hands.

Accept that the note or coin you are holding has been to countries where people have died due to Covid-19.

Now ask yourself this: How dirty is money? Can money spread pathogens? Can money spread the coronavirus? With our schools about to reopen, one can only imagine what happens when children handle money when they buy a snack during their lunch break or after school. It is scary to imagine that after handling the cash, they put the food straight into their mouths.

This is the reality we are faced with.

One study apparently found that physical currency changes hands at least 55 times a year, or almost once a week.

But many people don’t realise this and overlook the risk.

Here is a practical example in Namibia: A shop cashier assists an average of 100 to 200 people per day, of which 80% would require change. One can only imagine what would happen if one shop cashier receives coins infected with a virus like Covid-19.

It would be catastrophic.

Should we be worried about a possible increase in the spread of the coronavirus through paper money and coins? The short answer is yes, but we can reduce the possibility.

The institutions responsible for putting money in circulation must take the necessary precautions and put measures in place to ensure that money does not get released in public without being disinfected or sterilised.

All businesses dealing with money and commercial banks must literally clean their cash before it circulates among the public, and this is an example that can be taken from China.

There are cost-effective ways of disinfecting and sterilising money with ultraviolet light (UVC), ozone treatment and heat-based methods.

If the coronavirus is here to stay, as expected, sanitising or disinfecting cash is a preventative measure we should be taking very seriously.

On top of this, people should of course wash their hands after handling currency.

Mariah Muhongo, MSc molecular biology and biotechnology, Pan-African University of Basic Science, Technology and Innovation

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