Covid-19: Medical conferences around the world are cancelled after US cases are linked to Massachusetts meeting

Medical conferences around the world have been cancelled because of fears about covid-19 after a meeting in Massachusetts was linked to 70 suspected cases. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced earlier this month that 15 suspected cases of covid-19 in the state had a direct connection to a meeting of staff from the biotech company Biogen, held in Boston in late February.1 Two days later the Massachusetts state governor, Charlie Baker, declared a state of emergency.2 Massachusetts currently has six confirmed cases of covid-19 and 89 suspected cases.3 Fears about covid-19 have also led to numerous medical conferences around the world being postponed or cancelled. In the UK …