Fed Puts Quarantine on Repatriated Physical Cash From Asia

The Federal Reserve has imposed a minimum seven to 10 day quarantine on physical U.S. currency it receives from Asia before processing as a precautionary measure, even though the coronavirus mainly spreads by human-to-human contact, according to a spokeswoman.

The Fed maintains a contingency stock of currency to meet demand, and routinely processes notes and coins as part of its services to banks. There is currently $1.75 trillion of Federal Reserve notes in circulation.