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Five coronavirus cases in Wake County, NC linked to Biogen meeting in Boston
https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2020/03/09/five-coronavirus-cases-in-wake-county-linked-to.html
By Seth Thomas Gulledge – Staff Writer, Triangle Business Journal
Mar 9, 2020, 7:52pm EDT
Five new cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in Wake County are being linked to a Biogen conference held last month in Boston.
All of the confirmed patients traveled to Boston in late February for the Biogen meeting, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The meeting has been linked to an outbreak in Massachusetts where Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) is based. The company employs about 7,500 globally with 1,575 working in the Triangle.
The Wake County patients are now all in isolation at their respective homes. Health officials are working to identify close contacts fitting the criteria of individuals who were within 10 feet of the patients for a period of at least 10 minutes.
The patients are just the latest that have been confirmed in relation to the conference. As of Monday morning, approximately 26 employees at Biogen, 23 of whom live in Massachusetts, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Roughly 175 people were at that meeting, according to the company.
The company has ordered all of its employees in Massachusetts, Research Triangle Park, and Switzerland to work from home, and all employees who attended the Biogen meeting to self-quarantine.
“We recognize that this is a difficult situation for our colleagues and their loved ones,” a company statement read. “We are actively working with all relevant departments of public health and hospitals to prioritize the well-being of the people who may have been exposed to COVID-19.”
Monday's new cases bring the total number of identified cases in North Carolina residents to seven. The first two, another Wake County resident and a Chatham County man who had traveled to Italy, are not linked to the newest cases, health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control will confirm the latest diagnoses.
As of Monday evening, more than 700 cases of coronavirus had been identified across the United States.