Pittsfield COVID Rates Remain Low for Thanksgiving

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city for the most part remains on the downward trend from two fall COVID-19 surges as the region enters the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Last week, Director of Public Health Andy Cambi reported to the City Council that Pittsfield is recovering from two fall surges.  He did remind the panel of last year's holiday surge that pushed the city into the red zone and said residents should always be thinking about protecting themselves.

Because other metrics don't include at-home tests, Cambi has indicated that the city's Biobot sewage testing is the truest way to gauge the virus's impact on the community.

The city on Sunday showed a virus concentration of 699,000 copies per liter, which is higher than last week’s concentration of 507,000 copies per liter but lower than the 2.7 million copies per liter that the city showed in mid-October.

Starting the week, there were 15 daily cases per 100,000, down from 15.9 last week and only five new cases reported.

Other metrics have seen a slight increase but remain much lower than the rates in October.


The percent positivity rate of 6.4 has increased from 5.6 percent last week as well as the estimated actively contagious cases, which have increased from 30 to 42.  

Both remain significantly lower than last month when positivity rates were about 10 percent and case counts were around 100.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has provided schools with free tests for students and staff to bring home over the weekend. They are being asked to test on Sunday in hopes of avoiding any post-holiday surges. 

The city remains in the "red zone" for transmission, having more than 10 cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate above five percent. It has essentially remained in this category since last year with some reprieve in the spring that put the city in the lesser "yellow zone."

Next week marks the return of the in-person tree lighting, which was not able to happen in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic. Last month also saw the return of the city's Halloween parade.


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Show-Cause Hearing for Pittsfield Bar Continued Again

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Bei Tempi will have a show-cause hearing for its liquor license in May after police brought forward pictures that appear to show underage patrons drinking.  

On Monday, the Licensing Board continued a hearing for Zuke's Soups and Variety LLC, doing business as Bei Tempi, to May 18. This is the second month it was continued. In the last year, the bar has been accused of underage service by two different parents.  

Earlier this year, Police Capt. Matthew Hill received a call from an upset parent about her 19-year-old daughter patronizing Iztac Mexican Restaurant at night and being served. 

Those photos resulted in a two-week liquor license suspension for Iztac, and the same mother submitted an almost identical complaint about Bei Tempi with photos, one of them with the owner "clearly visible" in the background, Hill said. 

The owners, Richard and Elizabeth Zucco, did not show up in March, and the hearing was continued again this month. 

"This show-cause hearing was scheduled for March 23 of 2026 and the licensee did not appear at that hearing, although I understand that notice went out by way of email," Chair Thomas Campoli reported after the bar's second no-show, adding that the Zuccos' lawyer communicated they had a "planned prepaid trip" that conflicted with the meeting. 

Last year, a different mother approached the Licensing Board asking for accountability after her underage child was allegedly served at Bei Tempi. After drinking at a graduation party, she said her 18-year-old son became further intoxicated at the establishment before returning home late and becoming combative, resulting in an arrest by police. 

In March, the pictures of alleged underage drinking at Iztac were printed and presented to the Licensing Board with faces blurred; the reporting party wished to remain anonymous along with her daughter and friend, and she was unable to attend the hearing. 

Hill ran the patrons' names through police records to confirm they were not 21. This is the same underage daughter who is said to have drunk at Bei Tempi, and her mother has provided photos. 

The Health Department ordered Iztac to close on March 13 after finding "pests" in the establishment.  On Monday, a notice stating that it was closed to the public to protect public health and safety was no longer on the door but the Health Department confirmed that the closure was still in effect. 

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