Pittsfield Seeing Decrease in Average Rate of COVID-19 Cases

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:30PM / Friday, January 28, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After a month of sharp COVID-19 increase, the city is seeing a decreasing average case rate.

"With regards to the number of cases we have been seeing, we continue to get high and low case days," Director of Public Health Andy Cambi wrote in an email on Friday. "It is a similar trend we have seen with past spikes. The cases would slowly decrease, usually taking periodic significant drops and then leveling off for a time."

There were 94 new cases on Thursday, 75 on Wednesday, 124 on Tuesday, and 46 on Monday.

The average case rate per 100,000 people is 223.6 after peaking at an all-time high of 283.1 on Jan. 16.
The positivity rate is now 16.8 percent, down from 18.1 on Jan. 17. That metric was close to the pandemic's highest positivity rate of 19.2 that occurred in early April 2020.

Similarly, the number of estimated actively contagious cases has dropped to 445, whereas there were 790 on Jan. 15.

There are currently 21 COVID-positive patients on precautions in Berkshire Medical Center. Pittsfield's 14-day hospitalization rate is 1 to 1.94 for vaccinated to unvaccinated patients.

Some 85 percent of residents are vaccinated with at least one dose and 74 percent of the community is fully vaccinated.

Cambi was unable to be at Tuesday's City Council meeting for a COVID-19 update but provided graphs that confirm the drops in cases and hospitalizations.

BioBot sewage testing also showed a decrease in virus concentration followed by a drop in cases.

Pittsfield has remained in the red incidence rate since November. That same month, the Board of Health voted to implement a mask directive that states that masks should be worn in all publicly accessible indoor spaces in the city unless seated at a table eating food or drinking.

The COVID-19 task force reconvened before Thanksgiving to discuss the city's health data that pushed it into the red zone. At the time, Pittsfield was at a 5.1 percent positivity rate, compared to the state's 3.28 percent, and a case rate of 52 per 100,000 people.

Mayor Linda Tyer distributed a press release in response to the city reaching a higher risk incidence rate asking residents to participate in the fight against COVID-19 by continuing to wear masks, wash hands, social distance, and be mindful of gatherings with those outside of the household.

After Christmas, cases began to spike until they reached a peak in mid-January.

Early in the month, BHS spokesman Michael Leary said that with the omicron variant present in the community, the number of people being tested daily for COVID-19 by BHS had almost doubled.

This surge also had an effect on the schools, as Taconic High School and Reid Middle School had to close on Jan. 6 and 7 because they do not have enough staff to open.

Just one day before, Superintendent Joseph Curtis had cautioned in a video and written communication to Pittsfield Public School families that school closures could happen because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

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Pittsfield Seeks $28M Borrowing for Water, Sewer Infrastructure

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:32PM / Saturday, February 28, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is seeking a total of $28 million in borrowing authorizations to upgrade its drinking and wastewater infrastructure.

This includes $13 million for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and $15 million for upgrades to the Cleveland and Ashley Water Treatment Plants, which are located outside Pittsfield. The City Council referred the $15 million borrowing request to the Finance Subcommittee on Tuesday.

The full drinking water project is expected to cost $165 million over the next 8 years, with $150 million for long-term construction and $15 million for near-term needs. The initial ask would fund the final design and permitting for Phases 1-3, Phase 1 of interim updates, allowances, and contingency.

After the meeting, Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales explained that these are needed repairs so the current infrastructure can be stretched a little longer while design work is underway.

Pittsfield's two Krofta drinking water treatment plants were installed in the 1980s. The city says they are beyond anticipated useful service and at risk for catastrophic failure that could leave Pittsfield with a shortage of potable water.

Krofta is a compact filtration system that Pittsfield will continue to use. There are four units at the Cleveland WTP and two at the Ashley WTP. Morales said the system is "very good" but needs to be upgraded.

"We were one of the first to use that type of technology in the 80s, and it's outdated now, and getting parts and getting repairs to it is very costly because of the outdated technology that it's using, and we can replace that with better infrastructure," he explained.

"We need to build a chemical facility on the Cleveland side. We already have that done at Ashley with [American Rescue Plan Act] funds, largely, and then we need to build better tank holding systems at the plants to allow for fluorination to happen at the plant, instead of on its way down to Pittsfield."