BOSTON — A February conference at a Boston hotel was a “super-spreading” event that caused far more coronavirus infections than previously thought, according to a study released Tuesday.
Researchers on the study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, told The Boston Globe in interviews the Biogen conference at Boston’s Marriott Long Wharf hotel may have led to as many as 20,000 coronavirus cases in Massachusetts. Researchers previously put the estimated number of cases stemming from the conference at 99.
“I’m confident that the scale for measuring this event is in the tens of thousands,” Dr. Jacob Lemieux, an infectious disease physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and one of 50 researchers who worked on the study, told the newspaper.Ring | Featured AdvertiserCouple Gives Their Neighbors Something to Smile AboutSometimes a little entertainment can go a long way. That’s why Angela and her husband of Henderson, Nevada like to play dress up and give their neighbors something to laugh about.Watch Now
The study looked at a genetic iteration of the virus in 772 patients linked to the conference. Almost all of the patients in the study were from Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk and Suffolk counties. The genetic makeup of the virus can change as it spreads from person to person, allowing the researchers to identify which cases originated from the conference.
During his news conference Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said the study underscores how quickly the virus can spread.Subscribe
“I was criticized for saying a few months ago the Biogen event was a seminal event with respect to corona here in the commonwealth,” Baker said. “I do think it speaks to the power of that virus to move from one person to another…if people don’t wear masks, don’t social distance, don’t take seriously the fact that the fundamental strength of COVID 19 is its ability to get from one person to the next quickly. “
Initially, three of the roughly 175 people who attended the conference tested positive for COVID-19. The study found that 289 of the 772 patients had a version of the coronavirus traceable to the conference on Feb. 26 and 27. Of those 289 people, 122 were residents or staff at Boston-area homeless shelters.
“We never would have knowingly put anyone at risk,” Biogen said in a statement. “When we learned a number of our colleagues were ill, we did not know the cause was COVID-19, but we immediately notified public health authorities and took steps to limit the spread.”
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