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Biogen, a biotechnology company with a large presence in Research Triangle Park, is asking employees to work from home after five Wake County employees who attended a company conference in Boston contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The conference, held in Boston between Feb. 24-27, led to an outbreak of more than two dozen coronavirus cases in multiple states.

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An Indiana resident who attended the conference — and later visited Biogen’s RTP office — has also tested positive for COVID-19.

People who attended the conference now make up the majority of confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts, where the company is headquartered. Of the 28 coronavirus cases in Massachusetts, 23 are associated with that employee conference, The Boston Herald reported.

The company’s employee conference in Boston was held at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel, the local NBC affiliate in Boston reported.

There are now seven coronavirus cases reported in North Carolina, though two aren’t related to those announced March 9.

The patient’s timeline

In a release on Monday, Wake County officials said five people who lived in Wake County and attended the Biogen conference tested presumed positive for COVID-19. Wake County is having conversations with the patients to assemble a timeline of the movements since they contracted the virus. All are now in isolation at home.

Additionally, North Carolina health officials said an unnamed person who contracted COVID-19 traveled from Boston to Indiana, then to Raleigh-Durham International Airport on March 1.

On March 2, the person began showing symptoms while working at Biogen’s RTP office. The state said this is currently the only known location for potentially high-risk exposure. The CDC advises that COVID-19 is most likely to be transmitted when a patient is symptomatic.

On March 6, the person drove back home to Indiana, according to a news release.

David Caouette, a spokesman for Biogen, emailed a statement to The News & Observer, saying, “We recognize that this is a difficult situation for our colleagues and their loved ones. We are actively working with all relevant departments of public health and hospitals to prioritize the well-being of the people who may have been exposed to COVID-19.”

In response, the company has informed employees who attended the management meeting and “are symptomatic” that they will be contacted by public health authorities for testing and must quarantine themselves.

“Additionally, these employees are being asked to isolate from the people they live with (e.g. family members, loved ones or roommates) until further notice, and these close contacts must also be quarantined until further notice,” the company said.

Those who attended the meeting and are not showing symptoms are being asked to quarantine themselves until further notice and work from home.

The company is also requesting that all office-based Biogen employees and contractors in Massachusetts, Research Triangle Park and Switzerland work from home until further notice. That is likely to have an impact on the company’s ability to do drug development.

What is Biogen?

Biogen, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., is one of the largest biotech companies in the world. The company is one of the Triangle’s largest employers, with 1,450 employees, and has reportedly invested more than $125 million at its Research Triangle Park office since 2016, The N&O previously reported.

The company develops drugs for people who have serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, and focuses heavily on people with multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said the Biogen conference outbreak is possibly linked to a Tennessee man who flew into the city for the conference and later became Tennessee’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus, NBC 10 Boston reported.

So far there have been two other coronavirus cases in North Carolina: a Wake County man linked to Washington state and a Chatham County man to Italy.

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This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate