Pittsfield COVID-19 Cases Continue to Decline

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is inching down to the low end of the "red zone" after a spike in mid-May.

"What we've been seeing is the downward trend that's gone further down from the last month that was before you," Director of Public Health Andy Cambi said to the City Council on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the positivity rate for COVID-19 cases was 8.5, compared to 14.8 in mid-May, and Pittsfield saw 11 new cases. There were 41.9 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 133.3 in mid-May.

There are around 84 estimated actively contagious cases in the city.

Cambi reported that hospitalizations due to the virus have drastically decreased. There were eight patients at Berkshire Medical Center on Monday, compared to more than 20 early last month. These are patients who tested positive for COVID-19 but may not be hospitalized because of the virus. Only about 30 percent of patients statewide who tested positive have been primarily treated for the virus. 

Biobot sewage testing is also trending lower, showing 574.4 thousand copies per liter compared to 1.2 million earlier this month.

The city remains in the red incidence for transmission, which is the most severe.



Pittsfield entered the "red zone"  in April when the positivity rate rose to 5.3 percent. This risk category is defined by having equal to or more than 10 average cases per 100,000 and having a five percent or higher positivity rate in a 14-day period.

Cambi told the council that the city has lowered its focus age range for contact tracing from 70 and above to 65 and above and that the state has offered the city more at-home test kits to distribute to residents. They will arrive in the next few weeks.

Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey told Cambi that he was displeased to hear of an outbreak in the city from The New York Times and asked if the council could be notified.

COVID presentations were decreased to once a month due to declining metrics. Cambi asked if Kavey would like them twice a month and the councilor said he would just like notification of such events.

"When I asked you about our outbreak if you weren't sure what was happening, I would appreciate if you would keep an eye on that and just let us know before we read it on the front page of a newspaper," Kavey said.


Tags: COVID-19,   


More Coronavirus Updates

Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 news:


If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Companion Corner: Fox at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a sweet and energetic dog at the Berkshire Humane Society waiting for his new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Fox is a 3-year-old Pomeranian who has been at the shelter for about a month.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Fox. 

"He's a bundle of joy. He would love a family who's home with him a lot, because he's just, he's very social and wants to be with his people a lot. And he would be fun to bring out and about, bring a lot of places, because he's very happy to go anywhere," she said.

When Fox enters the room he is immediately a puffball of energy that goes around and around the room.

He came to the shelter after his former owner could not take care of him anymore. 

"The owner was just not able to care for him anymore. Had he came in with another dog, Wolf, and she already did find her forever home just last week," said Olivieri. "The two of them were left with a friend of the original owner, and the owner did not come back to pick them up, and the friend had too many animals in the house, and too much going on, and she just couldn't continue to look after them, so they did end up coming to us."

Fox can go home with cats and children but is not recommended to go home with other dogs as he gets too excited.

"He would love a home where people are home quite a bit to give him all the attention that he so desires. He loves kids. He absolutely adores children. So he would like a home with kids to play with. He could live with cats. We are saying that he should not live with other dogs. The only reason is that he gets very humpy, and he does not leave the other dogs alone," she said.

With his energy it is recommended he goes to a home that can keep him active whether walks or hikes and even fetch in the yard.

Fox does need to learn more about walking on a leash and has a tendency to mark in the house but he was recently neutered. Olivieri said belly bands will be sent home with whoever adopts him to help prevent marking and managing it.

"He would like an active home. He really does like to go for walks daily. He likes to run around in the yard. He does need a little work on leash walking. He sometimes gets a little tangled still under your feet, and he's learning how to walk on a leash," she said. "So, someone who's got some patience and some time to work on some training with him."

"He also is not fully potty trained, so he does know to go potty outside. However, he will still mark, urinate in the house sometimes, and he might poop here and there in the house."

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories