3,338 new COVID cases since Nov. 6

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

3,338 new cases since Friday and 94 new hospitalizations

The state announced 3,338 new coronavirus cases Monday, raising the positivity rate (the percentage of tests that are positive) to 3.7 percent. There were 94 additional hospitalizations, for a total of 496

COVID patients currently in the hospital, and 27 more deaths, bringing the total number of COVID-related deaths in the state to 4,698 since the start of the pandemic.

Bridgeport and Hartford averaging over 50 new cases a day

Bridgeport and Hartford continue to average a relatively high number of cases per day according to a CT Insider analysis of data. Bridgeport is averaging 59 new cases and Hartford averages 52. Stamford has the third-highest rolling seven-day average of Connecticut’s largest cities, with about 42 new cases a day.

58 percent of Europeans would take vaccine

Only 58 percent of people in Europe said they will take a coronavirus vaccine, according to new research, well below the threshold needed to generate herd immunity. That’s a problem, and education is the answer, according to researchers: “Only by educat

ing the general public about the benefits, safety and efficacy of vaccines can we hope to avoid the unnecessary prolongation of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Antibodies found in camels used to neutralize virus

Scientists have synthesized so-called nanobodies (very small antibodies) found in camelids (camels and llamas) to create an “ultrapotent” treatment for the coronavirus. The aerosol can actually neutralize the virus, according to researchers.

Air pollution creates higher risk of death for patients

Air pollution may be linked to COVID deaths in the United States, according to new research. “This is the first study that provides some consistent evidence that, if you’re living in a [U.S.] county with a higher level of fine particulate matter, it increases the risk of covid mortality,” Harvard’s Francesca Dominici told the New Scientist. The effect is not insignificant: For every microgram of particulate matter the COVID-19 mortality rate increased by 11 percent, the study says.