Every resident and staff member in Florida's most expensive ZIP code - a private island off the coast of Miami - can now get a coronavirus antibody blood test, and it shows just how differently the wealthy are riding out the pandemic
- Fisher Island, Florida, is the richest ZIP codes in the US, with an average income among residents of $2.2 million and a median home value of roughly $3 million.
- The island, which is located off the coast of Miami and is only accessible by boat, is home to roughly 800 families across 30 condominiums and employs over 400 workers.
- On Monday, the Miami Herald reported that everyone in the exclusive enclave, including staff, can get tested for coronavirus antibodies. The advanced tests are not available to the wider public yet.
- Fisher Island's widespread testing is the latest example of ways in which the wealthy are weathering the pandemic far more easily than the average American.
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The ritzy Fisher Island, a private community off the coast of Miami, is known for being the most expensive ZIP code in the US.
The enclave boasts an average income $2.2 million among residents, a median home value of $3 million, and now, coronavirus antibody testing for all its residents and staff.
According to the Miami Herald, Fisher Island purchased thousands of rapid blood test kits from the University of Miami Health System (UHealth) - enough to test the island's 800 families and 400 staff members for coronavirus. The finger-prick blood test, which only takes 15 minutes and can determine whether or not one has already had the coronavirus, is not widely available yet. The testing, purchased through UHealth, is available at the island's onsite UHealth Clinic.
As Lisa Worley, a spokesperson for UHealth, told the Herald, "This is what the Fisher Island residents wanted."
The Herald noted that the cost of the tests were not available. UHealth did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
In a statement emailed to Business Insider, Fisher Island spokesperson Sissy DeMaria Koehne noted that half of the island's residents are over the age of 60, which the CDC previously deemed a higher-risk category for the coronavirus. DeMaria noted that the island is funding the cost of testing, which is currently underway, and that the testing efforts are joined by ongoing social distancing measures. The statement also detailed that the island "has closed all Club amenities including golf/tennis/marina/restaurant (takeout only) facilities, and has restricted island access to only essential personnel and visitors."
According to Florida's Department of Health coronavirus cases map, there are over 21,000 cases in the state, over 7,400 cases in Miami-Dade county, and somewhere between five and nine cases on Fisher Island (which is part of Miami-Dade county). Less than 1% of Floridians have taken a coronavirus test.
The availability of testing - advanced testing - on Fisher Island underscores just how differently the wealthy are weathering the pandemic. In March, Business Insider's Taylor Nicole Rogers reported that celebrities and other wealthy individuals appear to have easier access to coronavirus tests than ordinary Americans, likely because they're hiring concierge doctors.
Meanwhile, there are also billionaires self-isolating on superyachts and socialites hiring limo services to deliver their mail to their second homes, all while a record-breaking 6.6 million people in the US filed for unemployment in one week.
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