ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is taking aim at companies who have jacked up prices of hand sanitizer during the coronavirus crisis.
The governor announced Monday that New York State is now producing their own hand sanitizer.
Cuomo says it is cheaper for the state to make hand sanitizer than to purchase it outside of NYS.
He says the state will give hand sanitizer to schools, jails, government agencies, etc. The governor added that If price-gouging continues, the state will start selling it to the public.
"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," Governor 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 biggest problem we have in this situation is fear, not the virus itself, and I'm once again reminding everyone to focus on the facts because the facts do not warrant the level of anxiety we are seeing."
They will begin producing 100,000 gallons a week. It is produced by Corcraft, which is the brand name for the Division of Correctional Industries, which is within the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. By law, Corcraft can only sell to government agencies.
According to the governor's website: "the hand sanitizer will be made available to residents free of charge, and distribution will be prioritized by the most impacted and high risk communities, including the New Rochelle community, and state agencies, including the MTA."
There is currently a total of 142 confirmed cases of coronavirus in NYS. The majority of the cases are still in Westchester County. They currently have 98 cases.
Of the 142 cases statewide, only eight people have been hospitalized. There are still no cases of confirmed coronavirus in Western New York.