Over 2,000 cases and 37 new hospitalizations in three days

Here are the most important things to know about the coronavirus in Connecticut:

Over 2,000 cases and 37 new hospitalizations in three days

The state announced 2,047 new coronavirus cases Monday, 12 more deaths and 37 new hospitalizations. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has decreased to 2.2 percent from 2.9 percent on Oct. 23.

Mayo Clinic: More physically fit patients less likely to be hospitalized

Exercise matters, according to research published by the Mayo Clinic. The more physically fit a patient was in the years prior to catching COVID, the less likely they were to be hospitalized, according to the study. As the study concludes, “Maximal exercise capacity is independently and inversely associated with the likelihood of hospitalization due to COVID-19.”

Study: Lockdowns affect health in both good, bad ways

What is being called a first-of-its-kind global study showed that lockdows significantly affected people’s health, in both bad and good ways. People cooked more and often ate healthier, but their mental states were adversely affected by community-wide lockdowns. “The stay- athome orders did result in one major health positive. Overall, healthy eating increased because we ate out less frequently. However, we snacked more. We got less exercise. We went to bed later and slept more poorly. Our anxiety levels doubled,” said Leanne Redman, PhD, associate executive director for Scientific Education at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Predictions show CT to have 6,000-9,000 deaths by February

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has released predictions for COVID-related deaths by state through the end of February. The most likely trajectory in Connecticut is somewhere between 6,000 and 9,000 deaths from the coronavirus, an increase of more than 1,000 in the next four months at the low-end. Nationwide, if 95 percent of the population wore masks, it would be the difference between 1,053,206 total deaths by the end of February and 381,798 total COVID deaths, according to the IHME.

Non–COVID-19 hospitalizations decrease during pandemic peaks, study says

A study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found a “substantial decrease in the number of non–COVID-19 hospitalizations across a range of diagnoses during the peak COVID-19 period.” There were less hospitalizations for injuries, worsening of chronic conditions and medical events requiring inpatient care. The study attributes the decrease to three things: patients avoiding emergency care over fear of COVID-19, loss of health insurance, increased threshold for hospitalization and changes in patient lifestyle because of social distancing.