Banknotes Pose Low Risk of Spreading COVID-19

Handling banknotes poses only a low risk of spreading Covid-19, the Bank of England has said, after it commissioned research to find out how long the virus lasts on cash.

The use of notes has dropped sharply since the pandemic hit in March, and the Bank said one reason could be fears that cash can carry the virus.

After reopening following the first lockdown, many shops and hospitality venues encouraged consumers to make contactless payments, while some refused to take any cash.

However, the Bank's research found that the risk of getting coronavirus from handling bank notes was much lower than that of contracting it from breathing air particles in a shop, or from touching items like shopping baskets, door handles or self-checkout terminals./msn