The rich turn to concierge doctors, yachts, and chartered planes in the hope of avoiding the coronavirus
The new coronavirus knows no national borders or social boundaries. That doesn’t mean that social boundaries don’t exist.
“En route to Paris,” Gwyneth Paltrow wrote on Instagram last week, beneath a shot of herself on an airplane heading to Paris Fashion Week and wearing a black face mask. “I’ve already been in this movie,” she added, referring to her role in the 2011 disease thriller “Contagion.” “Stay safe.”
Ms. Paltrow did not pose with just any mask, unlike, say, Kate Hudson and Bella Hadid, who also recently posted selfies wearing cheaper, disposable masks. The Goop founder and influencer of influencers instead opted for a sleek “urban air mask” by a Swedish company, Airinum, which features five layers of filtration and an “ultrasmooth and skin-friendly finish.”
Never mind that the surgeon general, Jerome M. Adams, begged people to refrain from indulging in mask mania on Twitter last weekend. Priced from $69 to $99, the Airinum mask, which has been popping up on Instagram stylistas, is sold out on its website until April. (The MoMA Design Store, which carried the mask, is also sold out.)
At C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, a venerable pharmacy in Greenwich Village, N95 face masks that can filter for viruses have been sold out for weeks, said Justin O’Connor, who works in the store’s surgical department. There is a waiting list of 300 people.
“A lot of big names come into C.O. Bigelow; they’re usually pretty humble,” Mr. O’Connor said. Now, some people are trying to name-drop their way into snagging masks. “They’ll be like ‘Do you know who I work for?’ but we’re never impressed,” he said.
Cambridge Mask Company, a British company that uses what it calls “particulate filtering layers and military-grade carbon,” has seen demand for its $30 masks spike 20 to 30 times normal levels, said Christopher Dobbing, its founder.
The rich are sparing no expense when it comes to minimizing their experience with the coronavirus.
Business executives are ditching first class for private planes. Jet-setters are redirecting their travel plans to more insular destinations. And wealthy clients are consulting with concierge doctors and other V.I.P. health care services. [Continue reading…]