But panic buying hit stores throughout city
as in the grocery stores, but he’s seen a steady stream of customers buying libations to ease their anxieties — and double as preventative treatment.
“People are looking for Everclear or overproof vodka. They think it’s an alternative to hand sanitizer,” he said.
Grezinsky, the former coach, attributed the panicbuying to all the uncertainty in the news, and the sometimes unclear information that government officials are spreading. “I don’t know if they [political leaders] have a handle on it,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
The concern and confusion has led some shoppers to buy in bulk. One customer walked out of Bruno’s with two black bags stuffed with 40 rolls of toilet paper.
“We had another customer buy 15 cans of Lysol,” said store manager Nick Mohabir, 47, who operates the sprawling hardware emporium. “We ran out of Lysol last week. People are buying Clorox wipes, paper towels and toilet paper.”
The shopping surge came as the number of confirmed cases in New York state shot to 421 Friday, more than any other state, according to Gov. Cuomo. State officials said they are expanding their diagnostic capacities, opening drivethrough coronavirus testing stations in the area of New Rochelle that’s been deemed a containment zone.
The facility, set up in Glen Island Park, will have six lanes for motorists and can handle 200 cars per day, according to the governor.
“It’s not only faster and easier, it’s also smarter and safer because you’re not exposing people to a person who may be positive,” Cuomo said.
New Rochelle residents will be prioritized at the new testing site, as well as “vulnerable” people. Those looking to be tested must call ahead and make an appointment.
Drivers will be swabbed by healthcare workers without having to leave their cars, limiting the chance for exposure. The site is being run by Northwell Health as the state is partnering with 28 private labs to test people for COVID-19.
The state will also take a series of measures to mitigate the economic fallout from the rapidly spreading illness.
Cuomo issued an executive order that will waive the sevenday waiting period for workers to claim unemployment insurance for those that have been put out of work by COVID-19.
The order will also eliminate the aid penalty for schools directed to close by state or local officials and don’t meet the 180-day requirement if they are unable to make up school days.
Schools are required to close for at least 24 hours after a student tests positive, but Cuomo said any determination about shutting down schools long term is a purely “local decision.”
The New York State Department of Public Service will also issue guidance suspending public utilities from cutting off services, including power and heat, to customers affected by COVID-19.