New York launches its own hand sanitizer made by jail inmates

New York on March 9, launched its own hand sanitizer made by the jail inmates due to state of emergency from the novel coronavirus outbreak, confirmed governor Andrew Cuomo. This comes as there has been the scarcity of the hand sanitizers that have led the solution to sell at a skyrocketing price.

Cuomo launched the product at a press conference dubbed as NYC Clean saying that he was introducing New York State Clean hand sanitizer. He flashed the bottle at the press, as per media reports. He further described the sanitizer as a superior product to products now on the market owing to its higher alcohol content than found in others, like Purell. It has a very nice floral bouquet, Cuomo added, describing its scent like lilacs, hydrangea, and tulips.

According to the reports, New York will produce 100,000 gallons per week of the personal hygiene product and will provide free supplies to government agencies, schools, subway and commuter rail systems, prisons, high-traffic facilities, and the New York region's bus. The sanitizer will be cheaper as it is state manufactured than buying it from some other supplier that usually costs the state $6.10 for the one-gallon jug and $1.12 for a 7-ounce bottle.

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Price hike of sanitizers

Cuomo further said in the press conference that it was the need of the hour for a state to produce their own sanitizer as two bottles of Purell hand sanitizer which sells for $9 usually, was being sold for $299 on amazon and $99.99 on eBay due to rise in demand as coronavirus gripped the country. Reports mentioned that the prisoners are paid between $0.10 to $0.33 an hour and work six-hour days, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

New York has at least 142 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, most cases in Westchester County, where at least 98 have contracted the disease, confirmed reports. Over 19 cases have recently emerged in New York City, as eight people are under medical supervision due to serious illness.

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