‘I have come with corona’: Currency notes found outside houses in Bihar town

The incident happened for the first time on Friday. The police say they have launched an investigation.

The lockdown, imposed to check the spread of coronavirus disease Covid-19, has led to some strange events in a small town in Bihar.

IN Bihar’s Saharsa, there are fears that currency notes can spread coronavirus disease Covid-19. (HT Photo)

According to Hindustan Times’ Hindi language publication Live Hindustan, people are finding currency notes kept outside their homes along with a paper slip. A note scribbled on the piece of paper says ‘I have come with corona. Accept this note, otherwise I will harass everyone’, reported Live Hindustan. (Read This Story in Hindi)

The currency notes found outside the homes are of denominations 20, 50 and 100. And the handwriting used on the pieces of paper is similar, pointing towards the work of a single person, Live Hindustan quoted locals as saying.

So far, people from three houses have reported finding such currency notes and pieces of paper. This has been happening in the town since Friday.

The police have said that they are investigating the matter.

The spread of coronavirus has led to adoption of strict social distancing norms by the people, who are now averse to touching things which are potential carriers of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

Last month, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had requested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to order investigation to assess chances of Covid-19 spreading through currency notes.

There is no scientific evidence or study to link spread of Covid-19 to currency notes. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has so far not issued any statement on avoiding the use of paper currency.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 positive cases crossed the 8000-mark in India on Sunday. According to health ministry, 8,356 people have contracted the coronavirus disease and 273 have died across the country, with more than 900 cases and 34 deaths in the last 24 hours.

In Bihar, 63 confirmed Covid-19 cases have been reported from Bihar. One person has died due to the disease while 18 others have been cured, said the state Health Department in a statement.