HCN News & Notes

Confirmed or Presumptive Positive Cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts Total at Least 28

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) announced 15 new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 on March 8, bringing the total number of confirmed or presumptive positive cases in Massachusetts to 28. All 15 cases had a direct connection to the Biogen employee conference in late February, and they include eight men and seven women from Suffolk County, Middlesex County, and Norfolk County.

With this announcement, 23 of the presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 identified in Massachusetts are associated with the Biogen employee meeting. All 15 new presumptive positive cases are isolating at home.

The risk of COVID-19 to the general public in Massachusetts remains low at this time. Specimens from presumptive positive cases will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation.

The Department of Public Health is providing daily updates on the number of confirmed and presumptive positive cases at mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-cases-quarantine-and-monitoring.

As of March 4, 719 people have been subject to self-quarantine in Massachusetts because of COVID-19. Of those, 470 people have completed monitoring and are no longer quarantined, while 249 are currently quarantined. This information is updated online each Wednesday.

For more information on COVID-19, visit mass.gov/2019coronavirus.