A two-day business conference in Boston held in late February may have been the cause of over 300,000 COVID-19 infections, according to the Hill.
The Biogen conference, held at the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel with 175 participants, led to at least 205,000 cases of the coronavirus through November 1, and the figure could be in excess of 300,000, according to a study published in Science, The Hill reported.
Cases of the virus linked to the event have occurred in at least 29 states and a number of countries, including Australia, Slovakia, and Sweden, but only 100 cases were directly associated with the conference, Science reported.
A two-day Biogen conference led to as many as 205,000 COVID-19 infections. (Shutterstock/PictureDesignSwiss)
Florida is estimated to have seen 71,540 cases connected to the event, the Boston Globe noted. The authors of the study had earlier estimated that about 20,000 cases could be traced to the conference in an August interview with the paper.
“The COVID-19 pandemic had a very direct and personal impact on the Biogen community — as it has on many communities across the country and world,” Biogen said to the paper in a statement released Thursday. “Tremendous progress has been made since the start of the pandemic to gain a better understanding of this novel virus and its transmission, develop vaccines, and investigate potential treatment options.” (RELATED: No Definitive Evidence Shows Trump Rallies Are ‘Superspreaders’ Of Covid-19, Health Data Shows)
The conference took place over two weeks prior to when governments began initiating shutdowns to slow the spread of the virus.