A 74-year-old Jerusalem woman accidentally incinerated NIS 10,000 to crisps in a bid to disinfect them from COVID-19.
The woman, who has not been named, said she collected the banknotes and, while wearing gloves, put them in a bowl with bleach and microwaved them. As a result, they were set afire, JPOST (Jerusalem Post) with reference to ynet news website.
The woman notified the Bank of Israel about the incident and apologized, saying she intended to replace the money but noted that her financial situation made this difficult.
The Bank of Israel, after investigating, decided to fully reimburse the sum, ynet reported.
It is theoretically possible to transfer COVID-19 through money. Cash is often circulated for years, and as a result, it is very easy for them to be covered in germs throughout the time.
Back in February 2020, during the pandemic's early months, Chinese banks began disinfecting cash before it was given to the public, according to CNBC.
However, it is very unlikely to catch COVID-19 through cash, as noted in an academic study.
