A pensioner in Israel wanted to make banknotes virus-free. When the notes worth almost 2900 euros were heated, they went up in flames. In the end, a bank helped.
Tel Aviv – A 74-year-old property manager in Jerusalem resorted to drastic measures for fear of contracting the coronavirus on her residents’ banknotes.
The pensioner put the 10,000 shekels worth of banknotes in a bowl with liquid bleach and put them in the microwave, Israel’s National Bank said on Thursday. The notes with a value of just under 2900 euros went up largely in flames when they were heated. The woman wanted to disinfect the money with the procedure, as she explained in a letter to the bank.
“I feel very guilty because it’s not my money and I’m an honest citizen who has never destroyed money,” the letter said. The lady sent more than 70 notes to the bank. The currency department then examined them and found that they were real, it said. Then the bank decided to replace the woman’s money.
Amir Spernowitsch from the cash department said: “Needless to say, banknotes in Israel contain iron threads that can cause flames in the microwave.”
According to German experts, the likelihood of contracting the coronavirus from banknotes or coins is very low.
As a bank spokesman said, the bank replaces thousands of damaged bills every year. “But we have not yet had a case in which the banknotes have been boiled.” Dpa
