The bank’s research tested a ‘worst case’ scenario of an infected person coughing or sneezing directly on to banknotes made of both paper and plastic.

However, it found that the virus remained stable for an hour but then rapidly declines and after about six hours had fallen to about 5% or less of their initial level on both types of notes, The Daily Telegraph reports. 

The report’s authors wrote: “A few hours after infection, even at high doses, the levels and therefore associated risk of infection appears low. Where low levels persist, it is not clear whether they are present at levels that could potentially establish infection. “