Tongue to cash is easiest way to attract coronavirus
Currency notes are found to hotbeds of microbes; officials turn blind eye to cash-based infection
Indians have a peculiar habit of using their index finger to collect spit from their tongues while counting cash. This could be a disaster waiting to happen, and worse, cash transactions in the time of the coronavirus is a cause for concern, as little or no information on whether individuals who are either suspected to be carrying the virus or those who have tested positive, have conducted such transactions.
Though the rapid response teams comprising officials and staff from various departments have been tasked with tracing people who were in close contact with such individuals, absence of concrete information about possible cash transactions has become a matter of concern.
This issue was flagged by the Confederation of All India Traders (Cait), which wrote a letter last week to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Several scientific studies have pointed out that currency notes are hotbeds of infection causing microorganisms that could result in diseases such as respiratory tract infections, meningitis and serious gastro-intestinal disorders.
“We have no idea why this issue is not being addressed and why everyone in the government is silent on this,” Cait president BC Bhartia told Deccan Chronicle. “Though we raised this issue previously too, it acquired additional urgency now.”
Asked if Cait has heard back from the finance ministry, Mr Bhartia said “it has been a one-way communication.”
There has to be a proper study in the wake of the new health crisis and the government should suggest solutions, he added.
Inquiries in Telengana revealed that not much attention has been paid to the aspect of any cash transactions conducted personally by Covid-19 patients.
Though the coronavirus’ ability to survive on different surfaces is still a matter of debate, according to a preprint of a study published on March 9 by the National Institutes of Health, Princeton, and the University of Southern
California, researchers discovered that the virus could survive on different surfaces from 24 hours on cardboard, to up to two or three days on materials such as plastic and stainless steel. Though the study was conducted under lab conditions, the researchers said that the coronavirus was also found stable for up to three hours in aerosol particles that float in air.