State reports more coronavirus cases from that Biogen meeting: Norwood says Town Hall, schools will open as normal tomorrow
State numbers released this afternoon show 28 diagnosed Covid-19 cases in Massachusetts, up from 13 yesterday.
All the new cases involved people at that Biogen employee meeting at the Marriott Long Wharf, the state says. The state has now diagnosed 23 cases of infection among attendees. Roughly 175 people attended the meeting.
Boston reports that five of the Biogen-related cases were in Boston residents, which brings the total number of diagnosed cases in the city to nine.
Meanwhile, Norwood officials say the risk of infection in their town remains low and that town officials and employees on self-quarantine following exposure to a resident infected at that Biogen meeting in Boston are doing fine. Both the town general manager and school superintendent are among those now at home after attending a benefit party along with a Biogen employee who began feeling ill after the event ended.
"It is safe to go around town and attend events," town health superintendent Sigalle Reiss says.
The state Department of Public Health reports that 249 residents across the state are in self quarantine currently - which means they will spend two weeks at home and can then go about their business if they show no cold-like symptoms during that time.
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Thanks
For dropping the "what about the flu?" bit.
Nah
I'm saving that for tonight. There have been thousands of flu cases in Massachusetts - and not many people care.
Epidemiologists care
One reason it's so important to delay as many Covid-19 cases as possible is so tons of cases don't arrive while the hospitals are full of flu patients and already short on resources. I've been hospitalized for something else during the height of a flu season and it sucked.
Control measures are the same
Except you can go get a flu shot that will greatly reduce your chances of getting the flu.
So if you haven't done that, go do that. As MG noted, we don't need any possibly preventable diseases taking up resources.
Nice video
That's a well shot, well delivered public address by a local town official.
Novel Virus
Covid-19. Coronavirius.
Can we just agree on a single term to call this?
Covid-19 is the disease
Covid-19 is the disease caused by the novel coronavirus (aka "severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2" – SARS-CoV-2).
coronavirus
And just to add to this answer, coronavirus refers to a family of viruses.
Takeda stays home
One of the state's biggest employers just told all of their employees to stay home until further notice unless working with animals that need tending or labwork to finish (but start nothing new).
Boston25 just reported that
Boston25 just reported that the, unbeknownst to him/her at the time sick, Biogen employee also attended another large conference at a Boston hotel in addition to the one at Marriott Long Wharf. Anyone know which hotel?