The greenback faces the same fate as many travelers returning home from China and other coronavirus hot spots.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has begun quarantining physical dollars that
it repatriates from Asia before recirculating them in the U.S.
financial system as a precautionary measure against spreading the virus,
a Fed spokesperson told Reuters.
She said regional Fed banks that help manage the money supply will
set aside shipments of dollars from Asia for seven to 10 days before
processing and redistributing them to financial institutions. The
policy, first reported by Reuters, was implemented on Feb. 21, the
official said.
The outbreak originated in China and more than 100,000 people have
been infected in over 85 countries, according to a Reuters tally based
on statements from health ministries and government officials.
According to the CDC, it “may be possible” to transmit the virus
through objects that have had direct contact with it, but
person-to-person contact is the main means of spreading the disease. The
CDC recommends U.S. residents returning from China and other high-risk
countries stay home for 14 days.
The World Health Organization, however, has been much more cautious
on risks posed by currency notes, advising consumers to use contactless
payments whenever possible, according to several British media reports.
As the global reserve currency, U.S. dollars are the most widely
distributed notes in the world with around $1.75 trillion worth of cash
in circulation globally, according to the Fed. Much that is circulated
overseas, particularly in Asia where the dollar is often stronger than
local currencies.
It is also filthy. A 2014 study by researchers at New York University
identified 3,000 types of bacteria on dollar bills due to how widely
and frequently they change hands.
The U.S. central bank has not gone as far as its counterparts in
China and Korea, which have ordered local currency notes to be
disinfected with ultraviolet light or destroyed altogether. But Fed
officials are in regular contact with the CDC and State Department
regarding the spread of the virus and are prepared to add other regions
to its quarantine list, the spokesperson said.
The 12 Fed banks from Richmond, Virginia to San Francisco are
responsible for managing the supply of dollars and coins, accepting
deposits of excess cash from banks across the world while doling out
currency to institutions that request it. Some overseas banks ship their
excess dollars back to the United States on commercial flights.
The reserve banks process the currency they receive, including
removing damaged notes from circulation and identifying counterfeit
bills. It takes between five and 60 days for the Fed to process
currency, with higher value notes being processed most quickly, the San
Francisco Fed says on its website.
On average, the Fed distributes $34 billion in paper notes every year, according to the San Francisco Fed.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-fed-dollars/fed-quarantines-u-s-dollars-repatriated-from-asia-on-coronavirus-caution-idUSKBN20T1YT?il=0
