Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt, March 22
Make no mistake: This is not a call to boycott our country’s financial system. Rather, it is a call to realize that the money we use – the bills and coins swapping hands around Egypt – is the ultimate vector for the transmission of germs. If the government is already considering battling the coronavirus epidemic using sweeping actions like curfews, why is it refusing to ignore the danger associated with using cash? I say this frankly: Most of the bills in circulation are in poor condition. On average, a bill swaps hundreds of hands each day. Think of the merchant at the market, the attendant at the gas station and the cashier at the supermarket. If medical guidelines call on us to refrain from touching doorknobs, elevator buttons and stairway handrails, why are they not prohibiting us from touching and dealing with cash? It is my belief that the Egyptian government should ban the use of cash until further notice. We are clearly not in a position to disinfect every bill or coin before letting it exchange hands, so why should we put ourselves at unnecessary risk? Some governments have issued bills made of a special type of material that is resistant to germs. Until the Egyptian government chooses to do the same, we are best suited to avoid paper currency. Relatedly, this is also a plea for the government to increase its enforcement of health and sanitation standards at food establishments. How exactly are we expecting to curb the spread of coronavirus when subsidized breads and fruits are displayed on sidewalks, available to touch and examine by every passer-by? This might be our only way to succeed in reducing the transmission of viruses and protect our population. – Abbas Al-Tarabili (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)