New York will make its own hand sanitizer using prisoners likely making pennies an hour

New York is rolling out its own hand sanitizer to combat coronavirus price gouging — and using some controversial practices to make it.

At a Monday press conference, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) acknowledged that shelves of hand sanitizer, soap, and other cleaning supplies had run empty and online resellers had taken advantage by charging exorbitant prices. So the state is making its own floral-scented hand sanitizer to distribute for free to schools, prisons, and municipalities, and Cuomo is considering selling it online if the price gouging continues.

New York's sanitizer is stronger than most on the market, and also costs far less. The latter is because it's being made by Corcraft, which pays incarcerated people around 65 cents an hour for their work. A Cuomo aide said prisoners at Great Meadow Correctional Facility upstate will make the sanitizer, and it'll cost New York about $6 per gallon to produce.

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New York City will similarly rely on prison labor if COVID-19 ravages the area. According to the city's Pandemic Influeza Surge Plan, last updated in 2008, Rikers Island prisoners will dig graves in a pandemic situation. That scenario seems very unlikely right now, as healthy and children and adults have recovered well from the new coronavirus infections.

Cuomo also reported there were 142 COVID-19 cases in New York state as of Monday, the most of any state.