De Blasio may make shelter-in-place call
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
New Yorkers should expect
a decision on whether
the city will implement a
shelter-in-place order to further
mitigate the spread of the novel
coronavirus as early as today
(Thursday), Mayor Bill de Blasio
said Tuesday.
“It has not happened yet but it
is defi nitely a possibility,” said de
Blasio. “But I do think that the
point has come where that decision
has to be made.”
The number of coronavirus
cases in New York City surged to
more than 1,000 on Wednesday
across the fi ve boroughs.
“The emergency policies that
have been issued are of statewide
impact, and the Governor is
making every effort to coordinate
these policies with our surrounding
states. Any blanket quarantine
or shelter in place policy would
require State action and as the
Governor has said, there is no
consideration of that for any locality
at this time,” said Melissa
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a news conference for the outbreak
of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at City Hall in the Manhattan borough of New York
City, New York, U.S., March 17, 2020.
DeRosa, a top Cuomo aide, in a
statement.
The decision would be an
unprecedented one in New York
City de Blasio added. “We have
never been here before…we are
going to have to create it from
scratch if we do it.”
PHOTO BY REUTERS/JEENAH MOON
During his daily coronavirus
update at City Hall, which
today was held in the City
Council chambers to allow for
better social distancing, the
mayor spoke frankly about a lack
of contingency plan if the order
were made. Questions concerning
access to food and pharmacies
still need to be addressed, the
mayor said.
He also was unclear as to how
the shelter-in-place order would
look like but referenced the recently
placed order in California’s
Bay area which requires that residents
stay home unless they are
essential personnel.
The order could mean that the
only people allowed to travel in
the city are essential workers like
healthcare workers, police and
fi refi ghters and would still allow
for New Yorkers to leave their
homes for exercise.
In addition, the mayor said that
the city’s public hospital system
reached an agreement with Bio
Reference Laboratories that
would allow for up to 5,000 novel
coronavirus tests to be done. The
mayor said that the public hospitals
would begin to have the
capacity to perform more tests
on Thursday.
City expands rules against price gouging
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
An emergency rule has
been put into place that
will ban all retailers from
price gouging on any personal or
household good or any service
that is needed to prevent or
limit the spread of or treat new
coronavirus.
On March 5, the Department
of Consumer and Worker Protection
(DCWP) declared face masks
in short supply, and followed up
by declaring hand sanitizer and
disinfectant wipes in short supply
a few days later. Since then,
DCWP has received complaints
about items in short supply and
price gouging for various items
and has observed numerous items
in short supply and being sold
well above regular market prices.
Under this new rule, it is illegal
for any store to raise the price for
any product or service that could
limit the spread of coronavirus by
10% or more. The rule follows
DCWP’s previous declaration
that face masks, hand sanitizer,
and disinfectant wipes are in
short supply and expands the
Agency’s ability to protect New
Yorkers from price gouging.
The rule covers any personal or
household good or service, such
as disinfectants, soap, and cleaning
products, diagnostic products
and services, medicines, and tissues,
that is needed to prevent
or limit the spread of or treat
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
coronavirus.
“Now is the time for us to
come together, not take advantage
of each other for a profi t
but we continue to hear about
and see empty shelves and price
gouging,” said DCWP Commissioner
Lorelei Salas. “We are
using every tool in our toolbox to
protect New Yorkers from price
gouging during this public health
emergency and I encourage consumers
to fi le a complaint if they
are overcharged. I also remind
New Yorkers about their right to
sick leave and encourage employers
to let employees use additional
sick leave if necessary so they can
take care of themselves and not
get coworkers or customers sick.”
DCWP is continuing to inspect
stores based on consumer complaints.
Any store found to be
in violation of the new rule will
be issued a violation and a fi ne,
which can be as high as $500
per item or service. If businesses
are paying more to supply these
items, they must provide proof to
DCWP.
The new rule, which went
into effect on March 16, will remain
active for 60 days, and the
DCWP can extend this period if
necessary.
4 March 19, 2020 Schneps Media