Health

Marriott Long Wharf, the hotel at center of Biogen meeting linked to COVID-19 outbreak, reopens after being shuttered for months

BOSTON — The Marriott Long Wharf hotel, one of the locations in the city where COVID-19 first began spreading in early March, has reopened after being shuttered for months.

A biotech meeting at the hotel was the source of a cluster of the novel coronavirus in the city and other parts of the country before businesses closed down and people began quarantining in their homes.

The crippling impact of the Biogen conference held at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel, linked to over 100 cases of COVID-19 in the state, caused the hotel to shut down until further notice. For the past three months, hotel staff had been working to fully decontaminate the building and then remained closed as the state mandated all hotels and lodging services to shut down.

The Boston conference gathered roughly 175 company executives for two days of meetings.

State health officials say the company notified them of the potential outbreak March 3 and that by March 6 they had publicly confirmed the cases as the type of coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19.

Now, under Part 1 of Phase 3, the newest step in the state’s phased re-opening plan, the hotel can open it’s doors and welcome guests once again - but not without making changes to their operations.

According to Marriott Bonvoy, the company under which Marriott Long Wharf and other properties operate, social distancing and hygiene will be their number one priorities.

In guest rooms, staff will be thoroughly cleaning all surfaces using hospital-grade disinfectants. Additional disinfecting wipes will be available for guests in each room. New cleaning technologies, such as electrostatic sprayers to sanitize surfaces throughout the hotel and ultraviolet light technology for sanitizing guest keys and devices shared by associates are being considered by the hotel chain.

Public spaces and high-traffic areas will be cleaned with increased frequency. Hand sanitizers will also be installed at hotel entrances, front desks, elevator banks and meeting spaces.

Extra partitions and social distancing measures will be provided for guests at check-in and in public spaces. Guests can also chose to check in, access their rooms and order room service via the hotel’s mobile app.

For more information, visit the company’s site here.

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RESOURCES:

- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

- Boston Coronavirus Information

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