MA Coronavirus: 5 More People Test Positive

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Saturday there have been five more presumptive positive tests for the new coronavirus, bringing the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Massachusetts to 13.

A UMass-Boston student remains the only case confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 has been identified by the state in the 12 other cases and are awaiting CDC confirmation.

It's not clear where the new five "presumptive positive" cases came from. They come one day after more than 60 people from a Boston hotel on Long Wharf were taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital to be tested.

Several cases are connected to a recent Biogen biotech conference in Boston. Three of the roughly 175 people who attended the meeting at the Boston Marriott tested positive at state labs for coronavirus, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said on Friday.

The other presumptive positive cases here have been traced to international travel, health officials said Friday.

"The hotel was informed by health authorities on Thursday afternoon of three confirmed COVID-19 cases involving individuals who attended a group meeting that took place between February 24 and 27," said the Mariott in a statement Friday, CBS news reported. "We are working closely with the appropriate public health authorities and are following their guidance. We continue to reinforce recommended measures on appropriate hygiene standards and to emphasize relevant health and safety measures. The wellbeing of our guests and associates is of paramount importance."

The state is testing as many as 50 people a day, according to officials. The tests take 24 hours for the state to process, and then they forward them to the CDC for final confirmation.

Before the latest cases, more than 700 people had been tested in Massachusetts for coronavirus, and of those 470 people had been released from quarantine and 249 people were still under quarantine in the state.

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Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.