Spending Euro Notes in Shops in Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca areas of Spain is Safer than Touching Metal

SPENDING euro notes in shops in Spain across the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca areas has far lower risk of catching Covid-19 than touching metal on a door handle.

That’s the view of a European Central Bank board member, Fabio Penetta, who said that extensive research has rubbished misconceptions that euro notes can be a serious spreader of the coronavirus.

He said that the ECB has conducted research with several European laboratories from which it appears that “coronaviruses can survive more easily on a stainless steel surface, used in say a door handle, compared to the euro banknotes.”

Panetta continued: “Other tests have shown that it is more difficult for a virus to be transferred from porous surfaces such as the banknotes than from smooth surfaces like plastic.

“Overall, banknotes do not represent a significant risk of infection compared with other kinds of surface that people come into contact with in daily life,” he concluded.

Panetta made no mention of any apparent infection risks associated with coins, but did say that the ECB is looking into the creation of a digital euro that would be used via a smartphone or tablet.

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Alex Trelinski

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