Pittsfield COVID Cases, Hospitalizations Continue to Rise

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Last week, iBerkshires reported that COVID-19 cases continued to rise after a surge that pushed the city into the "red zone" and hospitalizations had also increased. This week, the report is the same.

On Sunday, the percent positivity rate was 16.6 percent and there were about 132 cases per 100,000 people. The positivity rate was 12.4 percent on the previous Sunday and there were 106 cases per 100,000 people.

This is a stark contrast to the positivity rate of 2.1 in late March when there were only about 13 cases per 100,000 people.

On Monday, there were 20 people hospitalized with the virus at Berkshire Medical Center compared to 17 last week. There were three COVID-19 patients at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington on Monday as well.

In the last week, there were 30 hospitalizations for patients who tested positive in a PCR test and 52 in the last 14 days. Some 37 patients also have pending tests, according to Berkshire Health System's COVID dashboard.


Pittsfield has about 345 estimated actively contagious cases with 36 new cases just on Sunday.

There are currently about 33 new active cases in the Pittsfield Public Schools. This metric has gone down significantly from the previous week when there were more than 100 reported cases.

Superintendent Joseph Curtis said in a Friday districtwide update that the district continues to do a close analysis of each case in each classroom at each school along with the overall picture of the district. The district is so far not implementing any change in practice but that could change if circumstances do, Curtis also reported.

Early this month Curtis disclosed a possible return of masking in the schools if the cases continued to rise. In his update to students and families dated May 6, he reported 102 cases in the district, about 30 cases higher than his previous communication to families.  

On Monday, Berkshire County had 367 new cases and a 7-day average of 136.


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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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