Why you shouldn't get paranoid about coronavirus on bank notes

As new research claiming that Covid19 can survive longer on bank notes up to 28 days at 20 degree Celsius along with humidity started doing the rounds amid the corona surge health experts said on Monday that people should avoid being paranoid and must take proper pandemicrelated precautionsResearchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation CSIRO Australias national science agency claimed that that SARSCoV2 can remain infectious on surfaces for long periods of time as it can survive for up to 28 days on common surfaces including bank notes glass such as that found on mobile phone screens and stainless steelStressing that there are loopholes in this study Dr Richa Sareen Consultant Pulmonology Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj Delhi said that the research was carried out in the dark with stable temperature 20 degree and humidityThese are virus friendly conditions and do not simulate the actual temperature and humidity variations Earlier studies had documented the presence of virus on bank notes for up to twothree days and glass and steel for sixseven days which seems more acceptable Sareen told IANSAnother important point to remember here she said is that fomites inanimate objects are not the main source of spread of Covid19 infectionIt is primarily spread by aerosols droplets and personal contactThe research undertaken at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness ACDP in Geelong found that SARSCoV2 survived longer at lower temperatures and tended to survive longer on nonporous or smooth surfaces compared to porous complex surfaces such as cottonDr Suranjit Chatterjee senior consultant for internal medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital said that coronavirus is transmitted mostly through direct contact with an infected person especially the virusladen particles they emit while coughing sneezing speaking singing and even breathingThe direct contact with the infected person remains the major source of spreading the virus The findings did not necessarily reflect the potential to pick up the virus from casual contact as the presence of the virus in the study was detected by laboratory tools not fingers and hands as would be the case in everyday life Chatterjee elaboratedSuch findings are minor causes for the spread of the virus and can potentially create paranoia among the people he warnedHowever money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses and things like thatIt is advised to wash hands after handling bank notes and avoid touching the faceWhen possible its a good idea to use contactless payments If you want to protect yourself just maintain the basic principles of wearing a mask maintaining social distancing washing hands and maintaining coughing and sneezing etiquette Chatterjee told IANSThe researchers of the Australian study argued that for context similar experiments for Influenza A have found that it survived on surfaces for 17 days which highlights just how resilient SARSCoV2 isAccording to Dr Naveen Aggarwal Head and Senior Consultant Pathologist Action Cancer Hospital favourable surroundings and weather are the prime conditions of any virus survival or growthIn winters coronavirus can survive more on paper and can contribute significantly in transmission especially in a country like India Hence referring to this problem digital transactions and paperless work are the key Aggarwal saidKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever