NEW YORK (WBEN) - In what has become somewhat routine in recent weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo held a press conference Monday morning to provide yet another update on coronavirus.
UPDATE: There are additional confirmed cases of #Coronavirus in NYS, bringing total to 142.Westchester: 98NYC: 19Nassau: 17Rockland: 4Saratoga: 2Suffolk: 1Ulster: 1We continue to expect more positive cases as we test.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 9, 2020
Another development to come out of Monday's press conference? Cuomo announced a rather unique way to combat the price gouging of sanitation products.
"We are introducing New York State Clean Hand Sanitizer made conveniently by the State of New York - this is a superior product to products now on the market," said Cuomo.
According to Cuomo, health officials suggest 60% alcohol content in hand sanitizers, but this product, to be made by New York State inmates, will contain 75% alcohol. The Governor says the state will begin handing out the sanitizer to government agencies, schools and prisons.
As far as schools are concerned, Cuomo says they have instituted a new policy.
For all NY schools we are setting a new policy that if a student tests positive for #Coronavirus in a school, that school will be closed for a 24hr period so we can do assessment of the situation.Then a determination will be made about whether to close the school for longer.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 9, 2020NEW CASES
New York state's coronavirus caseload rose Monday from 105 to 142 and now includes a key figure in managing busy New York City-area airports: Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
He tested positive but has no symptoms and is quarantining himself and working from home, as are staff members who had close contact with him in recent days, the port authority said in a statement Monday. The agency runs Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports, among other facilities and transit services.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted that Cotton had been at the airports while travelers were returning from countries that have become hotspots for the virus.
Most coronavirus cases in the state are linked to a cluster in suburban Westchester County, north of New York City. But patients are spread from Long Island to the Capital Region, with at least 19 in New York City.
Cuomo has stressed that most people who become infected will have mild symptoms. Some 6% of the patients are hospitalized, Cuomo said, adding that most of them have underlying medical problems. Some have needed intensive care.
Meanwhile, the governor unveiled the state's own line of hand sanitizer, to be provided to government agencies. Sanitizer has been running short — or running out — in shops and online markets. New York's version is being made by prison inmates.
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SCHOOL CLOSURES
Confirmed and suspected cases of coronavirus have led to a small but growing number of colleges and schools shutting their doors — and Cuomo said more closures will come.
He announced Monday that any school where a student tests positive will be closed for at least 24 hours for assessment, and schools in the Westchester County hotspot of New Rochelle will likely remain closed for weeks.
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PHARMACY CUSTOMERS CONTACTED
CVS Pharmacy officials said they were helping state and local health officials contact patients who received prescription medication March 2 and March 4 from a northern New York pharmacist who has tested positive for the virus.
The Queensbury pharmacist and co-workers who were exposed have been placed under quarantine, the company said in a statement Sunday. The pharmacist was not displaying symptoms.
A hospital in nearby Glens Falls on Sunday canceled a planned public forum on the virus, saying it would instead post a video presentation.
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COURT ORDER
People showing up to federal court in Manhattan and some northern suburbs were greeted Monday with notices bearing a judge's order: Don't come in if you have had contact with anyone who has tested positive for the virus, or certain other criteria for possible exposure.
State courts aren't considering similar measures for now, Cuomo said.
