NY-Produced Coronavirus-Fighting Sanitizer Heads To New Rochelle

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New York State has begun producing its own sanitizer to foil price-gougers and make sure enough is getting to the communities and agencies that need it most, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a Monday morning news conference about the new coronavirus. New Rochelle, which Cuomo called the "hot spot" for what is officially called COVID-19, tops the list for distribution.

"We're going to distribute it to New Rochelle which is a hot spot for us because literally we're hearing from governments having trouble getting it. Also to Purell and Mr. Amazon and Mr. eBay, if you continue the price gouging we will introduce our product which is superior to your product and you don't even have the floral bouquet so stop price gouging," Cuomo said. "It's cheaper for us to make it ourselves than to buy it on the open market."

In addition to New Rochelle, high on the state's distribution list is the Metropolitan Transit Authority. The New York New Jersey Port Authority will need some too: Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority, which operates JFK International Airport, and the region’s other major airports, bridges, tunnels and bus terminals, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Cuomo said.

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Cuomo reiterated that the panic level that has emptied store shelves of products like hand sanitizer is far above what it needs to be.

Some retailers were charging about 10 times what major retailers charge for hand sanitizer, state officials said. On eBay a pack of five 2.5-ounce Germ-X hand sanitizer bottles were selling for $500 - by comparison, two 30-ounce bottles of Germ-X were offered online by Walmart for less than $8.

"As the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus continues to rise, unscrupulous retailers are exploiting New Yorkers' anxieties about the virus and charging exorbitant prices for hand sanitizer and other similar products," Cuomo said. "To solve this problem, the state is producing and deploying hand sanitizer to high impact areas as well as schools, the MTA and other government agencies because you can't get it on the market and the product that is available is very expensive."

"The fear and the hysteria is outpacing the situation," he said. "The reality of the situation is people in the target population should be careful. The people at risk here are senior citizens, people with compromised immune systems. They should adjust their interactions, they want to be careful. This is not the time to be going to large gatherings — use discretion."

New York State Clean sanitizer is being produced through the state's correctional industries entity known as Corcraft. Its alcohol-based formula is recognized by the World Health Organization. Production began at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, Washington County, this week.

Through this ongoing effort, the corrections department will be able to produce up to 100,000 gallons of hand sanitizer per week, Cuomo said. Corcraft, which produces dozens of products, uses the manufacturing process to assist in the department's overall mission to prepare offenders for release through skill development, work ethic, respect and responsibility.

"This is a superior product to products now on the market," Cuomo said. "The World Health Organization, CDC, all of those people suggest 60 percent alcohol content. Purell, competitor to New York State clean - 70 percent alcohol. This is 75 percent alcohol."

Local governments seeking to obtain additional stocks of hand sanitizer should work with their county's emergency manager and local Health Department to submit requests directly into NY Responds, the state's web-based system which enables both local governments and state agencies to submit and share vital emergency-related information and resource requests.

Cuomo also confirmed 37 additional cases of novel coronavirus in New York State since his last update Sunday evening, bringing the statewide total to 142 confirmed cases:

• Westchester: 98 (16 new cases)
• New York City: 19 (7 new cases)
• Nassau: 17 (12 new cases)
• Rockland: 4 (2 new cases)
• Saratoga: 2
• Suffolk: 1
• Ulster: 1

"Westchester is our problem," Cuomo said. "That makes the point about gatherings — that's my conversation with my mother."

He reiterated that there is no need to panic.

"People are reacting like this is the ebola virus," he said. "This hysteria that you see, this panic you see is unwarranted. This spreads like the flu but most people will have it and get on with their lives. Many will have it and not know they have it.

He pointed out that only eight of New York's 142 are hospitalized. The others are at home.

More testing is needed to identify where the virus is spreading, to mitigate its speed, he said. Since the testing is targeted at those who have been exposed, the number of positive results is expected to climb.

As state officials try to expand testing, they used Wadsworth's emergency use authorization to authorize Northwell Laboratories on Long Island. Manual testing of 75 to 80 samples per day has begun at Northwell, but automated testing still needs to be approved by the federal administration so the lab can perform thousands of tests per day, they said.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is ready to start running 50 to 60 tests daily once it receives federal approval for testing, state officials said.

The governor again Monday urged the federal administration to approve the use of the state's coronavirus test by private labs, such as NY Presbyterian.

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