The People's Bank of China (PBC) has taken a number of preventive measures amid the coronavirus outbreak to protect health of those who are using cash by releasing 600 billion yuan ($85.8 billion) of new banknotes, while the used ones are being sent for the disinfection and quarantine for up to 14 days, PBC deputy governor, Fan Yifei, said on Saturday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th February, 2020) The People's Bank of China (PBC) has taken a number of preventive measures amid the coronavirus outbreak to protect health of those who are using cash by releasing 600 billion yuan ($85.8 billion) of new banknotes, while the used ones are being sent for the disinfection and quarantine for up to 14 days, PBC deputy governor, Fan Yifei, said on Saturday.
"After the outbreak began, we started to pay special attention to the population's safety and health when using cash, and we took a number of measures. First of all, we made sure that new banknotes were available to the population. Until January 17 this year, the People's Bank of China arranged distribution of nearly 600 billion yuan in new banknotes," Fan told reporters.
The banker added that before the start of the Chinese New Year on January 24, the PBC sent 4 billion yuan of new banknotes to Wuhan, the epicenter of COVID-19.
According to Fan, this has strengthened the sense of security among the personnel at the banks and other institutions where cash is used. Additionally, the cash flow was suspended between the provinces, as well as within the areas with the most severe epidemic cases, which had also reduced the risk of spreading the infection. Banknotes used in the most vulnerable cities, will undergo ultraviolet sterilization and be stored in the bank for 14 days, after which they can be returned to circulation.
The new strain of coronavirus - COVID-19 - was first detected in Wuhan, located in the province of Hubei, in December and has since spread to more than 25 countries. In mainland China, the virus has already resulted in 1,523 fatalities, with 66,492 people having been infected. Over 1,700 doctors have been infected with COVID-19, six of them have died.
