Massachusetts has five new presumptive cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of presumed or confirmed cases to 13, officials said Saturday.
Three of the new cases have a direct connection to a Biogen employee contract last week at the Marriott Long Wharf in Boston. There are 11 total patients in and outside of Massachusetts who have been connected to that meeting.
People who attended the conference have been tested for the coronavirus in pop-up tents outside Boston hospitals, but officials said residents should stay calm.
“There’s no need for fear here,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh Saturday. “We’re monitoring what’s going on in San Francisco and in Seattle, we’re monitoring what’s going on in Rhode Island and we’re obviously monitoring what’s going on here in Massachusetts.”
But large gatherings could be in jeopardy, with sports officials considering fan-free games — and the Boston Marathon in April could also be affected.
“Other countries have canceled their marathons, we’re not there but we’re obviously going to monitor the situation as we move forward,” Walsh said.
The NHL has stopped media access to locker rooms and the NBA is telling teams to prepare to play games without fans in the stands.
“That’d be terrible, they might as well cancel the whole game,” said Celtics star Kemba Walker. “That would suck but at the end of the day it is getting serious. I don’t know, it would be very weird though. That’s for sure.”
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