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CHARLESTON -- The West Virginia attorney general, Monday, briefed reporters on the office's efforts to prevent gouging related to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said Monday his office was working with retailers to identify supply chain issues, investigating instances of alleged price gouging and warning consumers about scams and schemes.
"For all of us here in state government, stopping the coronavirus is a top priority," Morrisey said. "I encourage all West Virginians to take the steps that have been outlined by the (Centers for Disease Control) and the Public Health Office with the state that we're blocking the spread of the illness, and we're watching also for anyone who might take advantage of the situation."
Morrisey held a press conference Monday afternoon at the State Capitol Building in Charleston. For now, all Attorney General's Office employees are reporting to work, though he is considering limiting staff to essential employees.
"Over the last few weeks, the Attorney General's Office has been going through all aspects of our office's responsibilities to make sure we are prepared for the coronavirus and that we can work with consumers and all entities in state government to ensure the state of West Virginia is prepared," Morrisey said.
Gov. Jim Justice issued a proclamation March 4 for coronavirus preparations, also known as COVID-19. That proclamation gave Morrisey the authority to enforce the state's price gouging law, which prohibits businesses and contractors from inflating prices more than 10 percent above what the items sold within before the proclamation.
Morrisey said the price gouging law has criminal penalties for anyone caught breaking it. As of Monday, Morrisey said there were 12 pending investigations into allegations of price gouging. Morrisey said all instances of price gouging can be reported to the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-368-8808.
"We have heard where there are dramatic increases in prices," Morrisey said. "Our investigators are working throughout this time period and we've already been going out and investigating every single instance of price gouging that we hear about. We look into every single allegation."
The Attorney General's Office has also be in touch with retailers and suppliers regarding hoarding of food and supplies. Morrisey said that all depleted supplies, such as hand sanitizer, bleach wipes, bottled water, and paper products will be resupplied quickly and said there was no need for the hoarding of these supplies. He encouraged retailers to make sure there were supplies for people in the high-risk category -- people of the age of 60 and those with chronic health issues.
"By and large, the supply chain within West Virginia and the country is sound, and we've heard there is going to be continued restocking -- whether we're talking about food, supplies, or other items of basic necessity," Morrisey said. "People should be assured of that. If you go into stores and see some empty shelves, realize this is a temporary situation."
Morrisey also warned about scammers taking advantage of the coronavirus emergency to con people out of their private information and financial information, such as banking numbers and debit card information.
"There are going to be some scammers operating from around the world and across the country who are going to try to take advantage of you," Morrisey said. "We are urging people to take the time and learn before you buy any product, whether in person or online, and whatever you do, do not provide your personally identifiable information or your credit card information to anyone you don't know."
(Adams can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)