CORONAVIRUS IN NASSAU COUNTY: 187 new cases, $1.14M in fines issued for price gouging

Healthcare workers wave as a parade of classic cars makes its way by Nassau University Medical Center in a salute to workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic on May 04, 2020 in East Meadow, New York.
Photo credit Al Bello/Getty Images

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Nassau County Executive Laura Curran on Wednesday reported 187 new COVID-19 cases, and said the county has issued more than $1.14 million in fines for price gouging during the pandemic. 

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At a news briefing outside Nassau University Medical Center Wednesday afternoon, Curran said the county’s Office of Consumer Affairs has issued 256 violations to businesses as part of an anti-price gouging initiative known as “Operation Sticker Shock.” Nassau County has received 782 complaints about price gouging since March 9, she said. 

One of those businesses was a Plainview store whose owner last month was charged with violating the Defense Production Act of 1950 for hoarding personal protective equipment and selling it at “huge markups.”

“Price gouging is illegal, it will continue to be illegal, and we will continue to hold businesses accountable,” Curran said. “Now, I understand the supply chain is difficult, that it’s more expensive for the retailers to get it wholesale…. And we understand that you have to factor in that to make a profit.” 

“But when it gets to the unethical level, that’s where we step in and hold businesses accountable,” she added. 

Curran on Wednesday reported that a total of 37,162 Nassau County residents have tested positive for COVID-19; 1,818 of those people have died.

On Tuesday, 10.3 percent of county residents who were tested for COVID-19 tested positive — a number that is “getting lower,” Curran said.

Hospitalizations were down by 40 from Tuesday to Wednesday, with 254 people hospitalized, she added. The number of patients on ventilators was down by two, to 254. 

“We know [the death toll] will continue to rise,” she said. “The sad fact is… COVID ventilated patients tend not to have good outcomes.” 

Curran also praised the county’s nurses, noting that Wednesday was National Nurses Day. 

“I can’t think of a better place to celebrate National Nurses Day than NUMC,” she said. “You are our warriors, and we want to thank you for what you are doing every single day.”

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