MYSURU: Is that a banknote lying on the road? Set it on fire!
This is what happened at Nazarbad in Mysuru where people panicked after they found a Rs 100 note lying on the road. Fearing that it was infected with the deadly coronavirus, they first poured a sanitiser on it before lighting it up.
The video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
According to an onlooker, two passers-by who saw the Rs 100 note lying on the road in front of a medical store in Nazarbad grew suspicious.
They feared that it had been left there by an infected person who wanted others to pick it up and catch the infection.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Manjunath of Siddhi Vinayaka Medical store said, “I saw locals gathering in front of our medical store. When I went nearby, I saw them pouring a sanitiser over the note and then burning it using a newspaper.”
A similar incident had been reported in Hebbal recently. People refused to go anywhere near currency notes lying on a road there fearing them to be infected with the virus.
Interestingly, the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements that advises central banks across the world had clarified recently that "to date, there are no known cases of COVID-19 transmission via banknotes or coins."