DOVER, Del.- Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings is reminding all Delawareans and Delaware businesses to comply with the current state of emergency after issuing a cease and desist order to six businesses.

According to the DOJ, three gun stores--Miller’s Gun Center, Inc., StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply, Inc., and First State Firearms and Accessories, LLC--and two tobacco shops--Puffster and "Tobacco Store" in Newark--were issued cease and desist orders for operating as a non-essential business at the time.

“This is a tremendously difficult time for everyone, and the only path forward is for all of us to take this seriously as a community,” says Jennings. “These temporary restrictions are unprecedented, but they are necessary. Everyone’s job right now is to save lives. There is no alternative. And when people don’t take these orders seriously, we must step in.

The DOJ also says it issued a cease and desist to a Milford lab services company called The Lab at Seascape for charging administrative fees. The lab was not ordered to stop testing all together, but instead ordered to stop charging patients a $40 administrative fee.

The lab says it has removed the fee and says it is still offering rapid testing without the fee--now in full compliance with the Governor's order.

The DOJ says several people have been cited for failing to obey the emergency order. Jennings reminds people that it's a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $50 to $500 and up to six months in prison for each charge. Jennings says people or businesses who price gouge can be charged $10,000 per offense. So far, the Department of Justice has received more than two dozen formal complaints regarding price gouging and has served a subpoena at the Great Valu at Adams Four in Wilmington.

Jennings says the Department of State has sent several warning letters to businesses, informing them that they will be shut down if their behavior does not change.

The DOJ has publicly issued guidance to law enforcement and the general public on frequent questions about the orders’ practical impact. The DOJ also issued answers to frequently asked questions about the State of Emergency’s price gouging ban. Delawareans who wish to report price gouging should contact the DOJ’s Consumer Protection hotline at (800) 220-5424 or email pricegouging@delaware.gov.

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this article stated the Lab at Seascape was issued a cease and desist order for charging for COVID-19 tests. This article has been edited to more accurately reflect that the Lab was never ordered to stop operations, but only to stop charging the fee.