The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which produces COVID-19, becomes essentially nonviable when put on a cash banknote, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, according to news agency PTI. According to the findings, using credit and debit cards instead of cash as a virus protection approach is not advised. The virus is also more stable on plastic money or cards, with live viral detection 48 hours after the first deposition, according to the researchers.
According to the researchers, no live virus was discovered on the cash or cards selected at random for the study. The researchers infected a collection of $1 notes, quarters, pence, and credit cards with SARS-CoV-2. Following that, cash and coin samples were collected and analyzed for viral detection at four distinct times: 30 minutes, 4 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours.
The researchers observed that SARS-CoV-2 was difficult to detect 30 minutes after it was deposited on dollar notes. According to the study, the infection was reduced by 99.9993 percent after 30 minutes. The banknotes were examined again after 24 and 48 hours and no virus was found. The researchers were startled that even after placing roughly one million viruses on banknotes, they couldn’t discover any after 24 hours.
However, in the case of cards, the virus only decreased by 90% in 30 minutes and was discovered even after 48 hours, despite the fact that the decline rate had grown to 99.6% after four hours and 99.96% after 24 hours. The coin performed similarly to the plastic money cards in terms of viral reduction, but it still tested positive for the live virus after 24 and 48 hours.
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