Hospitalizations surpass 600 in Connecticut

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

Hospitalizations surpass 600 in state

State officials announced 33 more coronavirus hospitalizations since Wednesday raising the total to 617 patients currently hospitalized. In a press conference, Gov. Ned Lamont expressed concern. “We’ve doubled the number of people in the hospitals in the last two weeks,” he said.

CT reports another 1,158 cases since Wednesday

Connecticut announced 1,158 new COVID cases since Wednesday, raising the total to 85,899 cases since the onset of the pandemic. The daily positivity rate slightly increased to 4.8 percent. The state announced 10 more deaths for a total of 4,726.

Changes in smell can help predict outbreaks, researchers say

It’s been known for a while that loss of smell and taste are early symptoms of the coronavirus. Now a team from Penn State is showing that self-reports of changes in smell and taste can predict COVID outbreak. “Our research suggests that an increase in the incidence of sudden smell and taste change in the general population may indicate that

COVID-19 is spreading,” One researcher said. “This knowledge could help decision-makers take important measures at the local level, either in catching new outbreaks sooner or in guiding the relaxation of local lockdowns, given the strong impact of lockdown on economic and social activities.”

Poll finds that two-thirds of Americans support a one-month lockdown

Results from a poll conducted by YouGov suggest that nearly two thirds of Americans would support a one-month lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus. About 64 percent of the 13,000 U.S. adults surveyed said they would support a lockdown, while three out of 10 said they would not. Broken down by party, more Democrats — 87 percent — said they would support a lockdown, compared to 30 percent of Republicans.

Yale supervises national rollout of new, cheap COVID test

A team from Yale University is supervising a national rollout of a cheaper coronavirus test. The SalivaDirect retails for about $25, and was developed by Yale’s Anne Wyllie, associate research scientist in epidemiology, and Nathan Grubaugh, assistant professor in epidemiology. The test is also saliva-based, and not nasopharyngeal, which makes it less invasive.