With Halloween Around the Corner, Pittsfield COVID Cases Decrease

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:02PM / Friday, October 21, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With Halloween weekend a week away, COVID-19 cases are decreasing.

Last week, Director of Public Health Andy Cambi reported that the city was experiencing a "mini" COVID-19 surge. Around this time, the community impact dashboard reported an over 12 percent positivity rate, over 41 daily cases per 100,000, and around 100 estimated actively contagious cases.

On Wednesday, the positivity rate was 10.4, there were 33.6 daily cases per 100,000 and 81 actively contagious cases.

There were 12 hospitalizations reported at Berkshire Medical Center on this day compared to the 18 reported cases early last week.

Cambi said that the city’s Biobot sewage testing is the most accurate way to get a gauge of COVID impact on the community, as the other metrics don’t include at-home tests.

The virus concentration halfway through this week was 1.8 million copies per liter, while it was over two million copies per liter at the beginning of last week.

Last week, the public health director reported that the city is trying to get the Bivalent booster in-house and working with the state to offer it through small clinics. This booster contains a component of the original virus strain and a component of the omicron variant to provide better protection against the virus.

The city has been in the red incidence rate, which is the highest, for a number of months.

Parties and festivals have fully returned from hibernation during the height of the pandemic, the historic Pittsfield Halloween parade being one of the biggest comebacks.

This will be the 76th Halloween parade in the city after its two-year absence.

Tags: COVID-19, Halloween,

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Pittsfield ConCom OKs Stairs at Pontoosuc Lake

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:59AM / Friday, August 07, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Shoreline access stairs are coming to the south side of Pontoosuc Lake.

Last week, the Conservation Commission approved an amendment to the Order of Conditions for work at Pontoosuc Lake Park. There will be two stair sets on the south shoreline, and additional bank stabilization.

In 2025, the park's south side saw new stairs from the parking lot, a boardwalk, and other improvements. Later phases of the project will enhance the north side of the park for swimming, and remedy a concrete barrier wall that is partially underwater.

"Generally, what we're looking to do at Pontoosuc Lake Park is install some stair sets in two locations to help folks access from up above the bank, over the bank, and into the water," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained during the July 23 meeting.

"We're sensitive to some of the issues that are currently existing on the bank, and we're also sensitive to some of the needs for lake recreation out there."

Stairs for water access will be placed on the shoreline at the beginning of the boardwalk, where it is highly eroded, and the second staircase will be at the extreme western end of the project area, which has around 100 feet of highly eroded bank.

Additional brush layering will also stabilize the bank.

An area near the boat ramp where live stakes were vandalized will see them replanted after the ConCom found some of the bank erosion was worse than believed on a site visit last year.

The city originally proposed not replanting the area where live stakes were removed.

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