China's central bank in Guangzhou announced it will destroy cash collected by hospitals, buses, and markets in coronavirus-afflicted areas to curb the outbreak's contagion,financial news outlet Caixin reported Saturday.

The People's Bank of China ordered all paper currency with high exposure to the outbreak withdraw cash for either destruction or disinfection, according to Caixin. Commercial banks were toldto place banknotes from infected areas aside, clean them, and hand them to the central bank.

The coronavirus continues to spread around the world and most heavily hit China's population. The outbreak is responsible for 1,670 deaths with nearly 70,000 infected as of Sunday afternoon.Coronavirus has already prompted economists to lower their expectations for global growth, and major corporations have warned that the drag on global supply chains will likely hit quarterlyresults.

The People's Bank of China will use high temperatures or ultraviolet light to disinfect bills and store the cash for more than 14 days before placing it back into circulation. Central banksaround the world frequently destroy old notes to balance out the supply with new cash. The practice doesn't affect the money supply, though the coronavirus-related action is separate from suchregular measures.

An unnamed deputy chief at a large bank in Guangzhou told Caixin that, while customers will be asked where their deposited cash is from, "it would be difficult for such a measure to becompletely effective."

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