Some People Are Rushing to Buy "Survival Condos" Amid Coronavirus Fears
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The impact of the coronavirus is being felt worldwide. With over 100,000 people infected with the virus globally and more than 4,000 having died because of it, it comes as little surprise that some people are taking precautions.
One such method for those who can afford it is buying bunker-esque condos out in the countryside. There seems to be a similar pattern going on with vast-scale outbreaks, as certain people during the deathly Bubonic Plague acted in a similar fashion.
To each their own
Everyone has their own way of getting through an outbreak: some go out and mass-purchase toilet rolls, hand sanitizers, or antibacterial wipes; while others drop big bucks on a survival condominium out in the middle of nowhere.
It goes without saying that the latter option is only available to those with means, and shows a direct link to how some wealthier groups of the population believe bunkering down — quite literally — is the only way to survive a mass health outbreak.
Rich people are buying “survival condos” in abandoned nuclear missile silos. https://t.co/8d9v5GNVtu pic.twitter.com/mdxy5tr20C
— VICE (@VICE) March 11, 2020
Certain companies such as Survival Condos are racking in a fortune "thanks" to the coronavirus outbreak. Larry Hall, the developer and owner of Survival Condos told Vice that he converts abandoned silos and turns them into luxury condos priced from $1.5 million upwards.
Another similar company, Atlas Survival Shelters located in Texas that offers a number of different shelters and bunkers, as well as survival goods, has seen a sharp increase in interest since the coronavirus outbreak. Their shelters start at a price of $35,999.
Nothing highlights a wealth gap like a pandemic. https://t.co/QAkb98cdkO
— Dina Demetrius (@DinaDemetrius) March 11, 2020
There's an interesting pattern to notice here among those who can afford such shelters. Back during the Bubonic Plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1348, killing an estimated 50 million people, the rich reacted in a similar fashion as to the wealthy of today's world. Unfortunately for England, the plague hit it once again between 1665 and 1666.
Back then, those who could afford to own another home also ran off to their more secluded houses, leaving the less wealthy to fend for themselves in the busy, and disease-ridden streets of the cities.
The old adage that "history repeats itself" is certainly proving to be true right now.
My university is closing due to coronavirus so I’m working from home for the next few weeks. I am reminded that during the bubonic plague Newton was also sent home. He used his time to invent calculus and work out gravity. I’ll just try to clear my email backlog.
— Owen Jones (@jonesor) March 12, 2020
#COVID19dk
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