Coronavirus is forcing people across the country and in New England to make drastic changes in their lives.
Massachusetts now has 108 cases of the coronavirus, an increase from 95 on Wednesday.
That represents a slightly higher increase than the day before, when only three new cases were announced. The new numbers were announced Thursday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
"We're seeing an uptick in the number of presumptive positive cases as a result, in part, of increased testing, and we expect it to increase with more cases to be reported in the near future," said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.
State officials have now received more kits to test about 5,000 additional people. But Baker says he is asking the CDC and the FDA for more. He also wants more labs around the state to receive the federal authorization needed to do the actual testing.
"The fact that the state lab is the single source of testing at this point is not adequate," Baker said at a news conference in Pittsfield.
They come amid widespread preparations for the outbreak, which has killed thousands of people around the world and nearly 40 people in the United States.
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On Tuesday, Baker declared a state of emergency over the outbreak. The 92 cases reported that day were more than double the count from the day before.
Schools across Massachusetts are canceling classes or moving to online-only education, more than 1,000 people have been put in quarantine in the state and companies are sending workers home to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
There are now six confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, and 102 presumptive cases.
Middlesex County has 49 cases, Norfolk 24, Suffolk 22, Berkshire 9, Essex 2 and Worcester one. There is also one case from an unknown location. Sixty of the cases are male and 48 female. Ten of the 108 total patients required hospitalization.
The vast majority of the cases — 82 — are related to an employee conference held by the Cambridge biotech company Biogen from Feb. 24 to 27 at the Marriott Long Wharf in Boston. The hotel said Thursday that it is closing indefinitely.
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