Positivity rate up to 4.1%, highest since June

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

6 deaths, 538 new cases

in a day

The state announced 538 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, six more deaths and 22 new hospitalizations.

Conn. positivity rate up to 4.1 percent, highest rate since June

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Tuesday that the infection rate is up to 4.1 percent. This is the highest Connecticut has had since June. The rolling seven-day average positivity rate has risen every day for the last week, accumulating to an average of 2.5 percent today.

CDC: 6 percent of adults hospitalized are health care providers

Between March and the end of May, 6 percent of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 were health care providers, according to the CDC. Of those health care providers hospitalized with COVID, most, 73 percent, were obese. About 36 percent were nurses, 16 percent of them needed to be mechanically ventilated and 4 percent of those health care providers hospitalized with a COVID=19 infection died.

Study: Antibodies providing immunity don’t last

Antibodies associated with immunity from the coronavirus don’t last, according to a study from the Imperial College London. Using a finger prick test to detect antibodies in the blood, researchers found that the number of people testing

positive dropped by 26.5 percent between June 20 and Sept. 28. These findings suggest that immunity won’t last more than a few months in some cases, but Helen Ward, one of the lead researchers in the study, was reluctant to draw that conclusion explicitly: “We don’t yet know whether this will leave these people at risk of reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19, but it is essential that everyone continues to follow guidance to reduce the risk to themselves and others.”

Researcher suggests coronavirus may increase Parkinson’s risk

Coronavirus may increase risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a commentary published last week in the journal Trends in Neurosciences. “Evidence is mounting that the side effects of COVID-19 infection, such as inflammation and damage to the vascular system, could lay the foundation for development of Parkinson’s disease,” researcher Patrik Brundin told Science Daily. “COVID-19 is clearly a major and ongoing public health threat, but the consequences of infection may end up being with us for years and decades to come.”

Patrick Semansky / Associated Press Artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg stands near her art installation of white flags planted in remembrance of Americans who have died of COVID-19 on Tuesday near Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington. The temporary installation, called “In America, How Could This Happen,” will include an estimated 240,000 flags when completed.