Chronological Narrative of COVID-19

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Jan. 26, 2023: A brief spike in cases following the holidays peaked on the first and second week of the new year and has since been on the decline. 
 
The state crossed the 2 million mark in reported positive cases in the last week, with a total of 2,000,273 reported on Jan. 26; the county now has had 34,804 positive cases. 
 
Weekly cases topped 10,000 on Jan. 5 but dropped to 9,360, 6,804 and the latest, 5,797, in the past three weeks. The county reported its highest weekly number so far of the year on Jan. 12 at 230. The last two weeks were 187 and 146. 
 
The last week, however, was deadlier than usual with the state reporting 146 deaths and the county seven. The totals are now 21,826 and 458. Berkshire County has had reported 12 deaths since the end of last year. 
 
The number of positive patients has dropped by nearly a third over the past two weeks, with 863 reported of which 266, or 31 percent, are being treated primarily for COVID-19. Of the patients testing positive, 293, or 34 percent are not fully vaccinated.
 
The number of patients on Jan. 12 was 1,250 of which 409 were being treated primarily for the virus. BMC reports six patients, down from 14 two weeks ago.
 
The statewide seven-day positive average has also declined, from 12.25 percent on Jan. 12 to 9.35 percent. The county's 14-day positive average is lower but not by much: 10.52 percent compared to 10.89 two weeks ago. 
 
Pittsfield, which is still considered in the red zone, now has 15,591 cumulative cases but the number of active cases is 40, down from more than 100 at the beginning of the year. North Adams is at 3,586, with 80 new cases reported since the end of last year. 
 
iBerkshires has been tracking numbers weekly but only updating the COVID page every couple of weeks. This page will stop updating completely in March. The last update will be March 9, one day before the third anniversary of the declaration of the state of emergency. This page will be archived afterward. 
 
Jan. 5, 2023: The number of weekly positive cases and more than doubled since November, with 10,075 new cases reported over the holiday week and the average seven-day positive rate has jumped to 13.39 percent. The Berkshires saw 204 new cases, double that of the last week of November, and a 14-day positive rate of 10.21 percent.
 
These number, of course, only count the number of reported cases tested by health workers.  
 
The total numbers ending 2022 are 1,978,312 for the state and 34,241 for the county. 
 
The number of deaths also went up, with 129 reported statewide and four in the Berkshires. Those total figures are now 21,391 and 447, respectively. Pittsfield recorded its first death since the beginning of October, bringing its toll to 92. Pittsfield reported 196 cases for the two weeks ending on Dec. 31, 2022, and has 97 active cases. It's total number of cases to date is 15,415. North Adams is second-highest in new cases at 32 for a total of 3,525.
 
Patients testing postive has risen to 1,336 but, again, about about a third are being treated primarily for COVID-19 and about a third are not fully vaccinated. Berkshire Health Systems reports 14 patients who tested positive. 
 
Nearly 81 percent of the nation's population and 95 percent of those age 65 and older have gotten a booster dose. Health officials say vaccination is now so pervasive that the number of total cases will have higher numbers of those inoculated. However, the likelihood of being hospitalized for the novel coronavirus is nearly 30 times higher for unvaccinated adults ages 18 to 49 and 16 times higher overall for the unvaccinated. 
 
The number of total cases nationwide is now 101,094,670 and the number of deaths is 1,091,184.
 
 
Dec. 15, 2022: The state's seven-day positivity rate has crept up over the past two weeks, jumping from 7.14 percent on Dec. 1  to 7.85 percent on Dec. 15. The county's 14-day rate has gone from 5.87 percent to 7.05 percent. 
 
The number of positive cases has also risen after hitting an eight-month low of 4,425 the week before Thanksgiving. The week ending Dec. 1 saw the weekly number rise to 5,068, then 7,499 and, on Dec. 15, 8,391. There have now been a total of 1,950,694 cases statewide. 
 
The county's weekly numbers are also up after dropping to 82 on the week ending Nov.  17; the week of Thanksgiving it was 114, and then 91, 157 and 155 (for the week ending Dec. 15). The total is 33,682. 
 
Pittsfield has reported a total of 15,081 to date and North Adams, 3,469. North Adams had 31 cases reported during the first two weeks of December. The next highest were Dalton at 19 (1,740) and Great Barrington at 18 (1,884). 
 
The number of patients hospitalized primarily for COVID-19 is up slightly at 255, but remains at about 30 percent of all positive patients. 
 
 
Nov. 23, 2022: (numbers posted the day before Thanksgiving) The nominal downward trend in positive cases continues statewide, but the county saw an uptick just before the holiday. 
 
The Berkshires reported 114 new cases for the week, up from 82 the week before, for a total of 33,279 to date. The state had 4,425, down from 4,497 the week before, for a total of 1,929,736.
 
Pittsfield has continued to lead with the most new positive cases, posting 81 confirmed cases in the two weeks ending Nov. 19, compared to North Adams with 10. Great Barrington and Dalton had 16 and 15, respectively, and Williamstown 12. All other communities had 10 or fewer. 
 
Both sets of positivity rates are now below 6 percent: the state has a seven-day average of 5.59 percent (up slightly from last week's 5.44) and the county is down to 5.57 percent from last week's 6.24. 
 
Hospitalizations remain fairly flat at 562 patients testing positive for COVID-19 with the about the same breakdown of 30 percent being treated primarily for the virus and 33 percent not being fully vaccinated. Berkshire Health Systems reports 11 positive patients. 
 
The county reported one death for a total of 429 to date and the state 64, for a total of 20,833.
 
Also according to the CDC, about 80 percent of the total county population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 63 percent "completed primary series." Eighty-two percent of those age 5 and older have received at least one dose and 65 percent were fully vaccinated, of which  two-thirds had at least one booster. Ninety percent of the county's 65 and older population have gotten at least one booster. 
 
Nov. 18, 2022: The past three weeks have seen a slow and consistent decline in positive cases both statewide and in the Berkshires. 
 
After spikes in August and September that saw reported numbers of more than 9,000 new cases a week, November's weekly figures have dropped by nearly 4,000. 
 
The new cases were reported as 5,569, 5,524 and 4,497 for  the three weeks ending Nov. 3, 10 and 17. September had an average of 8,000 new cases a week. 
 
The Berkshires have dropped by nearly two-thirds in the last weeks, from 243 reported on Oct. 13 to 82 on Nov. 17. 
 
The positivity rates have also dropped with the state's seven-day average at 5.44 percent, down from 6.51 on Oct. 27, and the county's 14-day average is down almost half from 11.03 to 6.24.  
 
The total numbers to date are currently 1,920,814 statewide and 33,165 in the Berkshires. Pittsfield had only 12 cases reported in the past week for a total of 14,825 and North Adams three for a total of 3,421. 
 
Hospitalizations continue to decline, down about 200 from October, with 562 positive patients of which 156, or 28 percent, are being treated primarily for COVID-19. Some 34 percent, or 190, are not fully vaccinated. BHS reported six positive patients. 
 
Total doses of vaccine administered now stands at 16,853,271. About 1.3 million people have two or more boosters and 5,575,510 are considered fully vaccinated. Children have lagged behind adults in receiving vaccinations and boosters, with only about 27 percent of those ages 5 to 11 getting at least one booster and 3 percent getting two. In contrast, 80 percent or more of those age 65 and older have gotten at least one booster. 
 
 
Oct. 27, 2022: The number of cases dropped slightly over the previous week with 212 new county cases compared to 235 the week before and 7,318 statewide cases compared to 7,408 the prior week. 
 
The totals are now 32,762 and 1,909,721 for the county and state, respectively. 
 
The county had four more deaths recorded in the past week for a total of 422 to date. There were 86 recorded statewide bringing the death toll to 20,545. 
 
Hospitalizations also dropped slightly, to 764, of which 31 percent, or 239 patients, are being treated primarily for COVID-19. There are 276 patients, or 36 percent, who are not fully vaccinated. There were three positive patients at Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
The state's seven-day positive average rate has also dropped by nearly a point to 6.51 percent, down from 7.31 and 8.60 the previous two weeks. The county's 14-day positive rate remains high at 11.03 percent but down from 11.48 percent last week. 
 
 
Oct. 20, 2022: there has been little change in the number of new cases by state or county. 
 
The county has averaged 231 new cases a week since the beginning of September. There were 235 new cases this week for a total of 32,550. 
 
The state has averaged around 8,000 new cases a week for the same time period. There were 7,408 new cases this week for a total of 1,902,403.
 
The county marked three deaths for a total of 418; the state 58 for a total of 20,459.
 
The seven-day positive average rate for the state is 7.31 percent and the county's 14-day rate is 11.48 percent. 
 
Hospitalizations are at the highest they've been since May 23 of this year with 868 patients who tested positive. Again, of those, only 253, or 29 percent, are being treated primarily for COVID-19. There are 329 patients, or 38 percent, who are not fully vaccinated.  there has been little change in the number of new cases by state or county. 
 
The county has averaged 231 new cases a week since the beginning of September. There were 235 new cases this week for a total of 32,550. 
 
The state has averaged around 8,000 new cases a week for the same time period. There were 7,408 new cases this week for a total of 1,902,403.
 
The county marked three deaths for a total of 418; the state 58 for a total of 20,459.
 
The seven-day positive average rate for the state is 7.31 percent and the county's 14-day rate is 11.48 percent. 
 
Hospitalizations are at the highest they've been since May 23 of this year with 868 patients who tested positive. Again, of those, only 253, or 29 percent, are being treated primarily for COVID-19. There are 329 patients, or 38 percent, who are not fully vaccinated. There are 12 positive patients at BMC.
 
Oct. 13, 2022: the number of positive cases hasn't changed much but hospitalizations are rising — and the Berkshires had another death. 
 
The state on Thursday reported 7,865 new cases, down about 600 from the week before, for a total of 1,894,995. The county reported 243, up only five over last week, for a total of 32,315. 
 
There were 60 reported deaths, including one in Pittsfield, the first in more than two months. The toll is now 20,401 statewide and 415 in the Berkshires.
 
Statewide hospitalizations rose to 856 — its been steadily rising since the beginning of September — but of those, only 34 percent, or 293, are being treated primarily for the novel coronavirus. Again, this tracks with the number of patients who are not fully vaccinated, 302 or 35 percent. There are 70 patients in intensive care and 27 intubated. BMC reports 11 patients total and more than 20,000 are hospitalized nationwide.
 
Pittsfield had the highest number of new cases the past week at 169 (some 239 over the two weeks ending Oct. 8) for a total of 14,440 and about 100 active cases. Close to 90 percent of the populaton has had at least one dose of vaccine. North Adams was second in cases at 41 for the two weeks ending Oct. 8 for a total to date of 3,342.
 
New England (with the exception of New Hampshire), Delaware, Puerto Rico and Hawaii have the highest rates of immunization, according to the CDC. Vermont is first with more than 254,000 doses administered per 100,000, Puerto Rico second with more than 241,000, and Massachusetts third at more than 239,000 per 100,000. More than 871,852,135 doses have been administered nationwide with just under 70 percent of the population fully vaccinated and 80 percent having at least one dose. More than 16 million doses have been administered in Massachusetts. 
 
There have been 96,640,059 cases nationwide and 1,058,692 deaths. 
 
 
Oct. 7, 2022: The state's case counts have dipped slightly over the past two weeks, with 8,480 new cases this past week for a total of 1,887,130. The numbers dropped below 9,000 for the first time in two weeks. 
 
The county's numbers are fairly flat at 229 for the week ending Sept. 29 and 238 for this past week, for a total of 32,072. There has been one death in the Berkshires for a total of 414 and 90 statewide, for a total to date of 20,341. 
 
Hospitalizations have jumped to 758, up from 590 three weeks ago. However, only 227, or 30 percent, of those patients are being primarily treated for COVID-19 and 309, or 41 percent, are not fully vaccinated. There are more than 21,000 positive patients hospitalized nationwide and 15 in Berkshire County. 
 
The state's seven-day positive average remains high at 7.76 percent and the county's 14-day rate is 8.96 percent. These numbers do not reflect at-home tests. Wastewater monitoring continues to show a rising level of the virus in the Pittsfield sewage system that covers the city and parts of Dalton, Lenox and Hinsdale. 
 
Nearly 16 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the state and more than 896,000 people have had two boosters. 
 
 
Sept. 22, 2022: There was a obvious increase in cases over the past week with the state reporting 9,091 new case, up 1,000 from the week before, and the county up 297, 70 cases more than the week before. 
 
The total numbers are 1,869,603 for the state and 31,605 for the county. Wastewater monitoring is showing rising volumes of SARS-COV-2, particularly in the Boston region. Pittsfield and Greenfield's seven-day average has been increasing since the beginning of September and Amherst is showing a sharp spike upward after the first week of the month. Samples are taken one to seven times a week and analyzed by Biobot Analytics.
 
 
The state's seven-day positive average rate is 7.48 percent and the county's jumber more than a point to 9.48.
 
There is a total of 14,186 cases in Pitsfield, up 131 new cases in the past week, and a total of 3,285 in North Adams, up 26. In the two weeks ending Sept. 17, Pittsfield added 198 new cases and Adams (2,014) and North Adams 49 and 42, respectively. Dalton (1,614) followed at 32 and Williamstown (1,880) at 21, with all other communities below that. Mount Washington has the fewest cases reported since March 2020 at 19. 
 
The state reported 45 deaths for a total of 20,251 but the Berkshires had one death removed for a total of 412. 
 
There are 590 patients statewide with the novel coronavirus but only 194, or 33 percent, are being primarily treated for the virus and 44 percent, or 260, are not fully vaccinated. There are close to 23,000 hospitalizations nationwide but only nine in Berkshire County.
 
Total doses of vaccine administered in the Bay State is 15,691,102.
 
Sept. 15, 2022: The state's seen a slight uptick in the number of positive cases following the start of school at the beginning of the month. 
 
The state reported 7,936 new cases in the past week, up more than 1,000 from the week before, for a total of 1,860,512. The county's up by 228 cases, 37 more than the week before, for a total of 31,308.
 
The county had no new deaths, staying at a toll of 413, but the state reported 37 for a total to date of 20,206. 
 
Pittsfield continues to have the highest number of cases, reporting 163 for two weeks ending on Sept. 10, and having 105 active cases. All other communities reported fewer than 30 cases for those two weeks, with North Adams the highest at 29 for a total of 3,259. 
 
The seven-day positive average rate is 7.32 percent and the 14-day average for the county is 8.07, both up from the week before. 
 
Hospitalizations remain fewer than 600 statewide. There were 591 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 but only 182, or 31 percent, are being treated primarily for the virus. Of those positive, 254, or 43 percent, are not fully vaccinated. There are only 14 patients who are intubated,  compared to about 480 in mid-January and more than a 1,000 at the height of the pandemic in April 2020. 
 
The U.S. CDC reports 95,552,308 total cases and 1,048,532 deaths; 109,201,576 people, or 35 percent of those 5 and older, have had their first booster dose. The daily trends in cases, deaths and hospital admissions have been trending downward.
 
 
Sept. 8, 2022: The number of positive cases continue their slow decline in Massachusetts with 6,623 this week compared to 7,790 last week. The Berkshires was fairly flat with 191 new cases compared to 187 last week. 
 
The totals to date statewide are now 1,852,576 and 31,080 for the county. The seven-day positive average rate dropped by about half a percentage, from 7.61 percent to 7.13; the county's 14-day rate is 7.88 percent, down from 8.5 percent.
 
For the two weeks ending Sept. 3, Pittsfield had the most cases with 179  (13,852 to date) and North Adams far second with 36 (total 3,242). Only two other communities had more than 20 new cases during those two weeks — Adams at 25 (1,955 total) and Great Barrington at 22 (1,745). Twenty-one of the county's 32 communities had between five and zero cases.
 
The county did have four deaths related to COVID-19 this week, the first deaths in the past month, for a total of 413 to date. The state had 57 deaths for a total of 20,169. 
 
BMC reported five patients who tested positive. There are 573 positive patients statewide (down about 60 from last week), but only 161, or 29 percent, are being primarily treated for COVID-19. Thirty-nine percent of patients, or 226, are not fully vaccinated. 
 
The number of cases in the United States to date is 94,888,931 and there have been 1,043,921 deaths; 29,013 people are hospitalized.
 
 
Sept. 1, 2022: Positive cases continue their slow downward trend but hospitalizations are up slightly, reaching more than 600 for the first time since late July. The state's seven-day and the county's 14-day positive average rates are both down slightly down from the week before at 7.61 and 8.5 percent respectively
 
The state reported 7,790 new cases, down from 7,952 the week before, for a total of 1,845,953 to date. County numbers dropped below 200 for the first time since mid-July with 187 for a total of 30,889. 
 
Total numbers for Pittsfield are now at 13,776, with 120 new cases in the last week and North Adams is at 3,225, with 17 new cases. Pittsfield had 181 total new cases for the two weeks ending Aug. 27 and North Adams 45. The next highest number in those two weeks was Adams at 33, bringing its total to 1,949.
 
There have been no deaths in Berkshire County for three weeks but there were 49 deaths in the rest of the state for a total of 20,112. 
 
The patient count is 606 with 199, or 33 percent, primarily being treated for COVID-19. There 224 patients, or 37 percent, who are not fully vaccinated. BMC has eight patients on precautions, down from 15 last week. 
 
The U.S. CDC this week recommended updated boosters from Pfizer for ages 12 and older and Moderna for 18 and older.  The new boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading, according to the CDC. Booster recommendations for pediatric groups will be coming in the next weeks. 
 
More than 15,369,944 doses of vaccine have been administered to date in Massachusetts and more than 6 million people have received at least one dose. 
 
The Johns Hopkins University & Medicine shows that the New England states, with the exception of New Hampshire, have the highest rates of vaccination in the continental United States at more than 80 percent. Puerto Rico and Guam are also at more than 80 percent. Wyoming has the lowest rate at 51.7 percent. 
 
 
Aug. 25, 2022: The trend remains as a slight decrease in new cases compared to the week before. The state reported 7,952 new cases for a total of 1,838,163, and down 272 from last week. That's the lowest drop in week-over-week cases since July 21. 
 
The county numbers aren't significantly different, with 222 new cases for a total of 30,702. That's down from 226 the week before. The highest week count was 1,071 on May 12. These figures do not include home tests. 
 
There were 38 deaths statewide for a total of 20,063 but no deaths in Berkshire County, leaving that total at 409. 
 
There were 587 patients this past week of which 182, or 31 percent, were being treated primarily for COVID-19 and 252, or 43 percent, who were not fully vaccinated. There were 15 patients on precautions at BMC.
 
The state's seven-day positive average rate remains unchanged at 7.84 percent and the county's 14-day positive average rate is 8.69 percent. The lowest positive rates are Duke's and Nantucket at 4.55 percent and Hampshire at 5.89 percent. 
 
More than 15,340,089 does of vaccine have been administered and 5.45 million residents are considered fully vaccinated. More than 6.3 million have had at least one dose. The highest rates are for those 60 and older at 99 percent having at least one dose and the lowest is up to 4 years old at 14 percent. Still, with school starting, nearly 90 percent of students age 12 and older have had at least one inoculation and close to 60 percent of those age 5 to 11 years. 
 
Nationally, the numbers are 6 percent or less for up to 4 years old and 38 percent for these ages 5 to 11. 
 
 
 
 
Aug. 18, 2022: There has been a slight decrease in the frequency of new confirmed cases statewide over the past month.
 
The state reported 8,224 new cases on Thursday, down from 8,950 the week before, for a total of 1,830,211 to date. The highest count this summer was 10,250 in new cases in the week ending on July 21. 
 
The county's numbers remain above 200 a week, with 226 reported on Thursday. The average is 239 a week since July 21. The total number is now 30,480. 
 
These figures do not include home tests. 
 
There were 47 deaths this week, including two in Berkshire County. The state death toll cracked 20,000 at 20,025 and the county's is at 409. 
 
Hospitalizations remain low at 582 people infected but only 176, or 30 percent, being primarily treated for COVID-19. Some 240, or 41 percent, are not fully immunized. BMC had 10 patients on precautions. 
 
The state's seven-day average positive rate remains high at 7.84 percent and the county's 14-day rate is at 8.75 percent. Hampshire County and the islands have the lowest rates at 5.54 percent and 6.31 percent, respectively. 
 
 
Aug. 11, 2022: The confirmed numbers show no significant decline — or increase — in positive cases in the state or county. 
 
The state had 8,950 new cases, down about 700 from the week before, for a total of 1,821,987 to date and the county had 231 new cases, down eight from last week, for a total of 30,254. These numbers are not accurate for actual infections since many people are now using home testing. The seven-day positive average rate in 8.05 percent, up slightly from last week. 
 
There were 39 deaths statewide but none in the Berkshires, for totals of 19,978 and 407, respectively. 
 
Hospitalizations have not changed, with still 560 patients, of which 144, or 26 percent,  are being treated primarily for COVID-19 and of which 237, or 42 percent, are not fully vaccinated. BHS saw its numbers rise by two to 13. Based on the state percentage, about three are likely be treated for the novel coronavirus.
 
Pittsfield has a total of 13,465 cases as of Aug. 8, up only 14 from last week, and North Adams 3,155 as of Aug. 6, also up 14. The 14-day positive average rate for Berkshire County is 8.47 percent compared to Hampshire at 5.5 percent and Franklin at 6.37 percent.
 
The national totals are now 92,833,578 cases total and 1,036,973 deaths.
 
Aug. 4, 2022: The county saw only a slight decrease in new cases, down to 239 for the past week compared to 284 the week before. The state's numbers for confirmed COVID-19 cases remain high.
 
The state saw 9,646 new cases in the past week, down about 300 from the week before, for a total of 1,813,037. The county passed 30,000 total cases at 30,023. 
 
North Adams (3,141) had 38 new cases and Adams, Dalton, Great Barrington and Lenox all had between 25 and 30 new cases for the two weeks ending July 30. Pittsfield had the highest number 201 and a total of 13,441 as well as one new death, bringing the city's toll to 90. 
 
There were six deaths reported countywide the last week with the number to date at 407. The state had 41 deaths for a total of 19,939. 
 
There were 144 patients statewide hospitalized primarily for the novel coronavirus. Of the 560 total infected patients, 40 percent, or 226 were not fully vaccinated. Fifty-seven people are in ICU and 15 of those are intubated. There were 11 patients on precautions at BMC. 
 
The seven-day positive average rate is 7.97 percent; there has been no county data supplied since July 6. 
 
Nearly 7,000 more people have become fully vaccinated in the past week, for a total of 5,431,961; more than 15 million doses of vaccine have been administered. The percentage of the population receiving at least one dose is 90 percent compared to 79 percent for the U.S. population.  
 
 
July 29, 2022: infection rates appear to be steady, with another nearly 10,000 new positive cases reported in the state for a total of 1,803,391 so far. There were 38 deaths the past week, with three of those in the Berkshires bringing county toll so far to 401. 
 
The Berkshires tallied 234 new cases for a total to date of 29,784. Pittsfield had 157 new cases in the two weeks ending July 23 and a total of 13,259 as of Thursday. About 77 percent of  the city's population is fully vaccinated and there are more than 100 active cases. Great Barrington and North Adams each had the next highest number of 37 each for the two weeks ending July 23. Great Barrington's total is now 1,672 and North Adams 3,122. 
 
The seven-day positive average rate is 8.09 percent; the 14-day county rate has not been updated since July 6. 
 
Nearly 5.5 million people have been fully vaccinated in Massachusetts with more than 9,000 reported in the past week. More than 80 percent of the population is now vaccinated, which may be reducing the severity of the virus in those testing positive. 
 
The number of hospitalizations statewide has passed 600 for the first time since last winter but the number of patients being primarily treated for COVID-19 is 28 percent, or 171. Some 244, or 40 percent, are not fully vaccinated. Statewide there are 48 people in ICU and 19 intubated compared to January's surge when about 475 were in intensive care and nearly 300 intubated. BMC reports eight patients. 
 
July 21, 2022: The pandemic isn't going away anytime soon. The last week has seen a spike in cases and a seven-day state average positive rate of 8.17 percent. The county rates haven't been updated since July 6.
 
Pittsfield now has 104 active cases and has been back in the red for two weeks, dipping into yellow for only a few days near the beginning of the month. It posted about 80 positive cases for the past week and the county overall is up 217 for a total of 29,550 to date. The Berkshire also recorded two more deaths bringing that toll to 398. 
 
The state saw 10,250 more cases, up 3,000 from the week before, for a total of 1,793,437, and 42 deaths, for a total fo 19,860. 
 
Hospitalizations continue to climb, albeit slowly, with 589 patients and eight of those at Berkshire Health Systems. Of those, 348, or 59 percent, were fully vaccinated and 189 were being treated primarily for COVID-19 with 20 intubated. 
 
Despite the rise in cases, there has not been a state update on the pandemic in months. Residents are encouraged to mask up and get booster shots. About 80 percent of the state is considered fully vaccinated, more than 95 percent have received at least one dose and more than 40 percent of those vaccinated have received a booster shot. 
 
 
July 14, 2022: Positive cases are slowly declining in the Berkshires but not by much. There were 163 reported cases over the past week with about half of those in Pittsfield. Only the two cities posted more than 30 cases in the two weeks ending July 9. These numbers do not, however, include any home tests. 
 
 Pittsfield has reported 13,040 total cases and North Adams, 3,078. Both Adams (1,843) and Great Barrington (1,634) had 30 cases each in the two weeks ending July 9. 
 
 The county had one death (396 total) and the state 31 (19,818 total) over the past week. The state reported 7,096 new cases in the past week, down about 1,500 from the week before, for a total of 1,783,187.
 
 Infections remain high with a seven-day postive average rate of 7.87 percent and a county 14-day positive average rate of 6.32 percent. People are being recommended to mask up indoors or outside during large events where social distancing is difficult. 
 
 Hospitalizations have been ticking up with 552 positive patients, up almost 100 from a month ago. Of those, only 165 were being primarily treated for COVID-19 and about 199, or 36 percent, were not fully vaccinated. 
 
 Reminder that as of July 8, the state is reporting COVID-19 data on a weekly basis. iBerkshires is no longer posting data on the front page that may change depending the on the circumstances. 
 
July 7, 2022: The state will begin reporting data on a weekly basis beginning the week of July 11 and will now include fully vaccinated by county. The front-page module on iBerkshires will be removed but reporting will continue on this page for the time being, barring any significant changes. 
 
We will no longer be regularly reporting the number of vaccination doses since the state vaccination rate is now more than 80 percent of the population and inoculations are available for young children. 
 
The number of total positives and the number per week (in the second column) will now be reported on this page, along with deaths and positive rate percentages. 
 
The number of cases over the past week has declined slightly from the week before but the seven-day average positive rate is up a point from last week and hospitalizations have climbed to just over 500, with 10 positive cases at BMC. However, the percentages of unvaccinated and those being treated primarily for COVID-19 remains about the 30 percent mark. 
 
Berkshire County had no deaths over the past week and number statewide was 18.
 
June 30, 2022: The state ended the first six months of the year with a continued uptick in positive cases despite the high rates of vaccination. 
 
During the month of June, more than 54,000 new cases were reported or about 11,000 a week. The high-water mark came on June 9, when 21,533 new cases were reported that week. Nearly 10,000 were reported in the week ending June 30 for a total of 1,765,659.
 
Massachusetts has now recorded 1,765,650 cases since March of 2020, but that's not counting any number of home tests that have been taken over the past year. The omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are expected to make up the majority of infections this summer and health officials say they are more contagious and possibly more deadly; they also may be able to evade the antibodies created in those vaccinated. 
 
The Bay State has not seen the same dramatic drop in infections as in the last two years at this time. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the state reported about 15,189 cases during June and only 3,600 in 2021.
 
The good news has been fewer hospitalizations despite the increase in positive numbers. After holding steady at 100 or so during the early months, the number of patients has been between 400 and 500 over the past six weeks or so. However, the majority of those positive cases aren't in the hospital for COVID-19. Between 30 and 40 percent at any one time are being treated for the novel coronavirus while about about the same number are not or only partially vaccinated. 
 
At the end of June, there were 491 patients statewide with COVID-19 with 147 being treated primarily for the disease and 178 partially or not vaccinated. Berkshire Health Systems reported two patients total. 
 
The number of Berkshire County cases has dropped from a high of 1,071 in the week ending May 12 to less than 300 in each of the last three weeks. There were 247 cases reported in the last week of June. 
 
The total number of counts cases is now 28,931 and the number of deaths is 395.
 
Pittsfield has continued to have the highest number of cases with 12,870 reported on June 30 and 91 active cases. About 88 percent of the population is vaccinated. North Adams has had 3,029 cases with 46 in the two weeks ending June 25. The next highest were Great Barrington with 31 (1,601) and Dalton with 22 (1,481). 
 
Williamstown, which had an abrupt spike in the spring from Williams College, had 15 cases for a total of 1,778.  
 
Vaccination still remains one of the best ways (along with social distancing and masking) to prevent getting or suffering from COVID-19. The latest figures show that fully vaccinated individuals account for 11.4 percent of positive cases and that less than 2 percent of those have been hospitalized. The death rate among vaccinated individuals is 0.06 percent; at 3,213, they make up 16 percent of the 19,709 recorded deaths.
 
The average age of death is now at 81 years old and the average patient is 42. 
 
At the end of June, Massachusetts was No. 5 in percent of population vaccinated at 80 percent; Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine and Connecticut were in the top four spots. More than 15 million doses have been administered and more than 5.4 million people are considered fully vaccinated. More than 3 million have gotten a booster; and nearly 600,000 have gotten a second booster. 
 
Nationally, the number of cases stands at about 87,915,620 with the number of deaths at 1,017,988.
 
Globally, there have been more than 550 million cases and more than 6.3 million deaths. Some 12 trillion doses of vaccine have been administered. 
 
May 27, 2022: New COVID-19 cases appeared to have peaked again in the state and in the county. The number of new cases statewide dropped by about half from the week prior, with 15,387 recorded for a total of 1,710,941. The number of county cases has dropped over two consecutive weeks from a high of 1,071 on May 12 to 607 for the week ending May 26. The total for Berkshire County is now 27,640.
 
The county registered five new deaths over the past week for a total of 385 and the state 86 for a total of 19,404. 
 
While new cases appear to be dropping, hospitalizations have somewhat plateaued. The state reported 795 hospitalizations of which 79, or about 10 percent, were in ICU, and 29 intubated. The numbers of unvaccinated compared to hospitalized primarily for the novel coronavirus is 41 percent to 32 percent, respectively. BMC reports 10 patients who have tested positive.
 
Even though the numbers countywide are down over the past week, they did spike over the two weeks ending May 21, with Pittsfield recording 687 (11,425), Williamstown 171 (1,728), North Adams 148 (2,922) and Great Barrington 118 (1,490). 
 
The seven-day average positive rate remains high at 8.34 percent as does the county's 14-day average at 10.40 percent. These numbers are based on reported PCR tests and not home tests. 
 
The United States is back on top with the highest 28-day average of new cases at 10,613 after dropping out of the top 10 just a couple months ago. There has now been a total of 83,946,219 cases and 1,004,599 deaths. 
 
Some 14,790,043 vaccine doses have been administered to date, of which about 3 million were booster doses. About 99 percent of the state's residents have had at least one dose and 5,385,308 are considered fully vaccinated.
 
There was no report last week because of vacation.
 
May 13, 2022: The president ordered flags at half staff this weekend to mark a tragic milestone: one million American deaths from COVID-19. In comparison, an estimated 675,000 Americans died from the Spanish flu. 
 
And the number of cases are still climbing more than two years into the pandemic. More than 1,000 cases were reported in Berkshire County in the past week, up from 686 the week before. The positive numbers haven't been this high since January. The state saw its numbers jump by 10,000, the largest spike since the beginning of the year. 
 
The Berkshires reported 1,071 new cases for a total of 26,169 and the state 29,596 for a total of 1,663,904. There were two deaths in the county for a toll of 378 and 71 in the state, for a total of 19,252. 
 
Hospitalizations have also risen, albeit at a very slow rate. There 729 patients statewide but only 223, or 31 percent, were in the hospital primarily for COVID-19 and 237, or 33 percent, were not fully vaccinated. 
BMC reported 16 patients; based on the state percentage, about five were there for the virus.
 
Pittsfield has the highest numbers again with 11,681 cases, up 488 from last week, and has more than 350 active cases. 
 
For the two weeks ending May 7, North Adams reported 128 new cases for a total of 2,783; Williamstown 115 (1,571) new cases and Great Barrington 70 (1,370). Williams College had 61 new positive cases in the last week. 
 
 
May 5, 2022: Despite one of the highest rates of vaccination in the country, the latest variant of the novel coronavirus is spreading quickly through the population. The number of cases in the Pittsfield schools have officials considering switching back to virtual learning or re-imposing masking. 
 
The county recorded 686 new cases in the last week, up from 481 the before, for a total of 25,098 to date; the state's number was 19,501, up more than 3,000 from the week before for a total of 1,634,308.
 
The state's seven-day average positive rate is now 6.17 percent and the county's 14-day average is 6.44 percent.
 
Pittsfield is red zone with 11,193 total cases, up 316 from last week, and recorded on Thursday its first death since the end of January. 
 
Williamstown had the next highest number of cases for the two weeks ending April 30 at 120 (1,496),  North Adams reported 92 (2,705), with Lee third at 51 (1,094). 
 
The county now has 376 deaths to date and nine patients at BMC. There are 547 positive patients statewide, up about a 100 from last week, but the percentages of those hospitalized primarily for the virus and who are not vaccinated remains about the same 37 and 35 percent, respectively. 
 
The data still shows that the number of infections in vaccinated individuals is less than 10 percent. This week, state Sen. Adam Hinds, who has been campaigning for lieutenant governor, tested positive. He said he has mild symptoms and is isolating. The senator is vaccinated and boosted. 
 
Nationally, the number of deaths is nearing 1,000,000 (some outlets were reporting this number was crossed earlier this week). The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard has 996,865 deaths as of Thursday, and 81,675,629 cases total. The United States is also climbing in the 28-day average for new cases. It had been out of the top 10 for more than a month but is now at No. 5, below Germany, South Korea, France and Italy.
 
April 28, 2022: The number of positive cases keep climbing but deaths and hospitalizations continue to lag as compared to the spikes that occurred last year. 
 
Nearly 14.5 million doses of vaccine have been administered and 5.4 million of the state's 6.9 million residents have been fully inoculated. More than 260,000 have received a second booster. 
 
With nearly 80 percent of population vaccinated and more half boosted, it's little surprise that the novel coronavirus isn't affecting much of the population. The seven-day average positive rate is now 5.04 percent and is probably much higher since at-home rapid tests aren't being counted. 
 
There's five positive patients at BMC and 431 statewide, up 100 from last week but only a third are being primarily treated for COVID-19. There are 431 patients, 166 (39 percent) who are not fully vaccinated and 134 who are being treated for the virus. There are 31 patients in intensive care and 10 intubated. Two years ago, there were more than 1,000 patients in ICUs across the state; a year ago, 461. 
 
Deaths from COVID-19 among vaccinated individuals is 0.04 percent and hospitalizations are at 0.15 percent. Fewer than 10 percent of the 5.4 million vaccinated individuals have been reported as positive. 
 
The Berkshires reported 481 cases, up from 366 the week before, with 93 reported on Thursday. Pittsfield had the highest number of cases in the two weeks ending April 23 with 252 (total now 10,877) and Williamstown had 139 (1,454). Again, Williamstown's numbers appear to be driven by Williams College, which reported 63 new cases in the past week. North Adams had 72 (2,649) and all others 40 or fewer.
 
The state reported 16,266 cases this past week for a total to date of 1,614,807. The national numbers are now 81,239,310 total cases and 993,047 deaths. 
 
 
 
April 21, 2022: Cases continued to rise over the past week but at a much lower rate statewide. 
 
The state reported 13,365 new cases, up about a 1,000 from last week compared to nearly 4,000 the week before; the Berkshires was about 100 at 366, about up slightly from the 78 case rise the week before. 
 
The totals are now 1,598,541 statewide and 23,931 for the county. The state's seven-day positive average cases is now 4.32 percent, up almost a point over last week. The county's 14-day average is 3.89 percent, up 0.4 over last week. 
 
Hospitalizations are also up but the number of those being treated primarily for COVID-19 remains fairly flat. There are 384 patients positive for the novel coronavirus but only 111, or 29 percent, are primarily in the hospital for COVID-19. The number of those unvaccinated is 145, or 38 percent. BMC has eight positive patients.
 
The highest number of cases in the two weeks ending April 16 was in Pittsfield, at 167, for a total of 9,909. The city's COVID-19 dashboard was not updated with the latest numbers this week. 
 
Williamstown had the second highest numbers at 110, for a total of 1,399. This again appears to be driven by Williams College, which had 81 positive tests in the past week including 27 in the last two days. North Adams was third with 60 (2,606) and Great Barrington fourth with 41 (1,282).
 
The county reported two deaths in the past week and the state 46 for totals of 374 and 19,098, respectively. 
 
About 78 percent of eligible individuals in Berkshire County are fully vaccinated and 57 percent have received a booster. The state's percentage is about 79 percent.
 
The total number of cases nationwide is 80,841,556 with 990,565 deaths. The nation's 28-day average had dropped out of the top 10 globally but as of Thursday, it was at No. 9. 
 
April 14, 2022: The upward swing that started two weeks ago has accelerated, with 276 new cases in the last week, up from 198 the week before. 
 
The state's up by a third, with 12,280 new cases compared to 8,502 the week before. 
 
The number of county cases is now at 23,565 (including 50 cases recorded Thursday) and 1,585,176 statewide. 
 
The amounts may well be higher as Stop the Spread testing has ceased and many people may be using home testing. 
 
Deaths, however, remain lower than before, with 24 deaths recorded statewide and two in the county. 
 
Hospitalizations have risen to just over 300, up about 80 from over the past few weeks. But the number of people being treated for the novel coronavirus remains low. On Thursday, only about a third of those hospitalized were being primarily treated for COVID-19 and the number who were not fully vaccinated was about 43 percent. There are only two patients at BMC. 
 
The percentage of vaccinated people affected by the virus remains low: 8.8 percent have been infected, 0.15 percent hospitalized and 0.04 percent have died.  
 
About 37 percent of the new cases this week are in Pittsfield, which has more than 70 active cases. The city has had 10,510 total cases. 
 
For the two weeks ending April 9, Pittsfield had 151 cases, Williamstown 42 (1,303) , North Adams 35 (2,565) and Great Barrington 33 (1,267).
 
Williams College reported 30 new cases in the past week for a seven-day positivity ratio of 1.21 percent. 
 
Positivity percentages are up by almost a point statewide, rising to 3.66 from 2.93. The county is up almost two points, from 1.83 percent to 3.49.
 
April 7, 2022: We are switching to once a week number updates on the front page and, beginning next week, will report everything on Thursday since that is the day the state reports the community numbers. 
 
New positive cases have continued to rise but statewide hospitalizations have remained fairly flat, with 231 hospitalizations reported but only 80 of those, or 35 percent, primarily COVID-19 patients. About 106 of those patients are not vaccinated. BMC reports three patients total, about half the number from last week. 
 
Berkshire County numbers are up at 198, from 169 last week, for a total of 23,289; the state number is up 8,502, from 7,145 last week, for a total of 1,572,896.
 
Average positive percentage rates have also continued to climb, with the county up 1 percent from 1.77 percent last week to 2.83 this week for a 14-day average. The state has climbed to 2.93 percent for the seven-day average. 
 
Total numbers in Pittsfield are now 10,408, up 54 from last week, and North Adams climbed 25 new cases in the two weeks ending April 2 to 2,539. Dalton was the same at 25 (1,193), Great Barrington had 24 (1,244) and Adams 22 (1,553). 
 
About 78 percent of all eligible county residents are not fully vaccinated and 86 percent have received at least one dose.
 
March 31, 2022: As the month comes to a close, the downward trend of COVID-19 cases has taken a troubling turn upward. 
 
The county reported 169 new cases this past week, up from 91 last week and the first time there has been an increase in cases since Jan. 6. After hitting a record of 2,038 cases in one week on Jan. 13, the numbers had been dropping consistently since then. 
 
Pittsfield again had the highest number of new cases at 76 for the two weeks ending March 26 (with a total of 10,354 as of Thursday), with North Adams second at 20 (2,523) and Great Barrington at 19 (1,231). Pittsfield's also seen its number of active cases rise with 68 on Thursday, up from 25 or so a couple weeks ago. It's case rate per 100,000 has climbed from 13 to 18 over the past five days. 
 
The state also saw the numbers go up for the second week in a row at 7,145, up from 5,439 last week and 4,323 the week before. The seven-day average positive rate has also been creeping up after dropping below 2 percent last week; as of Thursday it was 2.36 percent. The county's 14-day average is 1.77 percent, which up again from the week before. 
 
The percentages of Berkshire residents vaccinated has not changed much but now 90 percent of eligible residents have had at least one shot and 79 percent of those age 12 and older are fully vaccinated. The state's been averaging about a 4,000 inoculations a day with 5.3 million residents now fully vaccinated. 
 
Vaccination continues to be the best way to mitigate the worst of the virus. Vaccinated individuals make up 8.7 percent of identified positive cases, 0.15 percent of hospitalizations and 0.04 percent of deaths to date. 
 
Hospitalizations have stayed in the lower 200s for several weeks now but only about 40 percent or fewer of those patients are in the hospital because of the novel coronavirus, a figure that tracks closely to the percentage who are not vaccinated.  
 
The county reported no deaths this week and the state 36. BMC has had two or three patients daily on pandemic precautions.
 
The nation passed 80 million in total cases to date and 980,000 deaths, or more than 1,500 a day since the beginning of the year. 
 
March 24, 2022: Positive cases took a troubling turn this past week, rising by more than 1,100. The state reported 5,439 cases compared to 4,323 last week, a nearly 20 percent increase. The seven-day positive average rate is also up at 1.99 percent, after being around 1.6 percent or lower over the past couple of weeks. 
 
Berkshire County numbers continued to trend downward, albeit at a lower pace. The county had 91 new cases compared to 105 last week; that's down about half from the beginning of the month. 
 
Pittsfield logged 80 new cases during the two weeks ending March 19, and only 31 cases this past week for a total of 10,274 to date. The Board of Health reports 23 active cases currently. 
 
Great Barrington was second in cases with 19 in the two weeks ending March 19 for a total of 1,221 to date, and North Adams 16 (2,512). All other communities reported 12 or fewer. 
 
The 14-day positive average rate for the county is 1.65 percent. 
 
Hospitalizations statewide have been static with 234 reported on Thursday, with three at Berkshire Medical Center. The percentage of those hospitalized primarily for COVID-19 is 33 percent. 
 
There were 34 deaths reported, including three in Berkshire County. 
 
Many communities have lifted masking mandates although some organzations are being more cautious. MCLA will be lifting its mandate on March 31; Mass MoCA is encouraging masking but proof of vaccination is no longer required for the galleries (but is for performances.)
 
March 17, 2022: The county reported 105 new cases in the past week, a quarter of the number a month ago and down 95 percent from two months ago. The state reported 4,323 new cases total, which is not as much a drop as in weeks past. 
 
Last week's number was 4,778, showing drop this week of only 455. The number had dropped by 30,000 in one week in mid-February and by 2,000-3,000 over the past few weeks. This week's county total is 22,831 and the 1,551,810 for the state. 
 
The state's seven-day average positive rate has also not decreased significantly, running around 1.50-1.60 percent over the past week. The county's 14-day average has dropped to about 2 percent. 
 
The number of deaths has changed dramatically because of the Department of Public Health's new guidelines (see March 14, 2022). According to the new numbers, the county only added one new death this past week and the state 40. 
 
Pittsfield has a slight uptick in active cases at 41 and reports a total of 10,243 cases to date, or about 45 percent of all county cases. The number of deaths at 88 hasn't changed in weeks. It had the highest number by far of new casees in the two weeks ending March 12: 103. That's compared to Dalton at 25 (1,162) and North Adams at 21 (2,503). Of the county's 32 towns, 21 had fewer than five cases or none. 
 
BMC reported one patient on precautions and the state 228, of which 29 were in ICU and 11 intubated. Of those total patients, 39 percent were unvaccinated and 34 percent being primarily treated for COVID-19. 
 
 
The United States had been at the top of the Johns Hopkins University's dashboard for months and months but had slowly dropped to No. 11 as other nations have surpassed its 28-day average of 1.5 million for new cases. However, national is still No. 1 in the total number of cases at 79,670,492 and in deaths at 969,626.
 
March 14, 2022: The number of COVID-19 deaths have dropped based on changes in reporting to the Department of Public Health. As of March 14, the state has adopted guidance from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, which recommended a standardized approach to counting COVID deaths. 
 
This new definition has decreased the number of reported deaths by 3,770 for the state and by 46 for Berkshire County. 
 
The prior counts had included anyone who had the novel coronavirus listed as a cause of death on their death certificate or who had a positive diagnosis within 60 days of the death. The new reporting reduces that time frame to 30 days. 
 
The new rules were applied retroactively, resulting in 4,081 deaths removed and another 400 deaths added that had not been previously counted.
 
The dashboard also includes 355 probable cases and deaths not previously reported (individuals with COVID on their death certificate identified as part of a thorough death data review process) for a total of 1,095 probable deaths. These newly reported deaths all occurred prior to April 2021. 
 
The numbers on Friday, March 11, were 22,980 for the state and 410 for Berkshire County. On Monday, March 14, they were 18,886 for the state and 364 for Berkshire County. 
 
March 10, 2022: The number of COVID-19 cases continue to slide with the expectation that next week's drop will be more significant. The Berkshires recorded 140 cases, down from 189 last week, but the last several days have seen the daily numbers in the teens. On Thursday, just 15 cases were reported. 
 
That brings to the total to date to 22,726 for the county, and 1,547,487 for the state, as the Massachusetts marks the date two years ago when the state of emergency was declared on March 10.
 
The declaration, which was rescinded on June 15, 2021, shut down wide swaths of the economy, included emergency orders for health workers and facilities, and determined who and what were critical to keep operating. 
 
Just two days before, the Berkshires learned of its first novel coronavirus infection, a man in Clarksburg, that would lead within days to the closure of schools and public facilities across the county. 
 
By the end of the first week of the state of emergency, 35 state residents had died including four from Berkshire County. The county death toll now stands at 408, with four deaths in the past week, and 22,966 statewide, including 22 reported Thursday. The national figures are now 79,446,167 total cases and 965,069 deaths. 
 
A year into the pandemic, vaccinations became available leading to the lifting of the state of the emergency but continued advisories on masking, social distancing and sanitation. But two years in, communities are beginning to loosen up limitations and several school systems, including North Adams and Pittsfield, are no longer requiring the wearing of masks indoors. 
 
In the two weeks ending March 5, Pittsfield reported 131 cases, North Adams 31 (2,493), and Dalton 22 (1,156). Pittsfield reported 72 cases in the last week and has 32 active cases.  
 
The seven-day average positivity rate for the state is now 1.60 percent and the 14-day average for the county is 2.49 percent. 
 
More than 14 million doses of vaccines have been administered statewide. Some 77 percent of eligible county residents are fully vaccinated and 90 percent have received at least one dose. More than half have received a booster. 
 
Hospitalizations are now below 300 (BMC has one patient) and the majority of those with COVID-19 are not being hospitalized for the virus. The percentages of those being treated for the novel coronavirus and who are not vaccinated remain fairly close. On Thursday, 42 percent of patients were not fully vaccinated and 37 percent of patients were being treated primarily for COVID-19. 
 
March 3, 2022: Positive cases continue their decline but at a much slower pace. After dropping by 40 to 50 percent the last few weeks, the decline was closer to 20 to 30 percent both state and county wide. 
 
The Berkshires recorded 189 new cases, a 90 percent drop from mid-January's high of 2,038, or a seven day average of 27 daily cases compared to 291 a day the week ending Jan. 13. 
Pittsfield as usual led with the number of cases for the two weeks ending Feb. 26 with 209 cases and a total of 9,464 (as of Thursday that total is 10,122); North Adams was second with 51 cases and a total of 2,478; Adams was third with 38 cases and a total of 1,520, and Great Barrington fourth with 26 cases and a total of 1,193. More than half the county's 32 communities had case numbers from 0 to five during those two weeks. Williams College, which had been driving case numbers in Williamstown since it reopened for the semester, recorded only four cases this past week. Last week, the college updated its masking policy to allow vaccinated individuals to go mask free indoors. 
 
Most public school districts are waiting a week or two before disposing with their own mask mandates despite the state and CDC lifting that requirement as of Feb. 28. There have been concerns about a spike in positive cases following school vacation week the last week of February. 
 
The county reported four more deaths for 404 this week but hospitalizations at BMC have been 10 or less over the past two weeks and those largely of unvaccinated individuals. The state death total is now 22,810, with 184 new deaths reported. This is a decline from last week's 265 and more than four hundred in mid-January. 
 
Hospitalizations statewide have also dropped below 400 with fewer than 50 percent hospitalized specifically for COVID-19. The state's seven-day average positive rate has also dropped below 2 percent but it does not include how many positive cases are being identified by home testing.
 
Nationwide, the number of deaths have averaged about 8,500 a week over the past month for a total to date of 955,614. The total number of positive cases has reached 79,171,907, or nearly 25 percent of the population. 
 
 
Feb. 24, 2022: there are now 400 county residents who have succumbed to the novel coronavirus since March 2020. Eight residents died in the past week, the largest number since nine deaths were recorded the week ending Jan. 27. 
 
The number of cases, however, continue to decline and the county had two days of very low numbers, 12 and 33, and a total of 231 this past week. That's down from 87 percent from mid-January, when the total was 2,038. The daily average that week was 291 cases a day compared to 33 this week. 
 
The Berkshires has now recorded a total of 22,937 COVID-19 cases and the state 1,536,565. The number of new state cases was 8,595 compared to 11,800 last week and 145,880 the week ending Jan. 13. 
 
Pittsfield has now passed 10,000 cases total but has only 57 reported active cases and a 75 percent vaccination rate. There were 350 cases reported the week ending Feb. 19 and North Adams was second with 97 for a total to date of 2,451. 
 
Adams reported 66 cases (1,511) and Williamstown 50 (1,217). Williamstown's cases have more recently been driven by the return of students to Williams College. Although required to be vaccinated, there had been a jump in cases from the more contagious omicron variant. That seems to have tapered off with the college reporting only eight cases in the last week for a total on Thursday of 666 since August 2020. 
 
Hospitalizations statewide are now down to just over 500 but only about 42 percent are being primarily treated for COVID-19 and of which 45 percent are not vaccinated. BMC reports eight cases, the majority of which are unvaccinated. For those vaccinated, the percentage of cases is 8.5 percent, hospitalizations 0.14 percent and deaths 0.04 percent.
 
The state is closing on 14 million doses of vaccine being administered. 
 
The national numbers are now 78,777,944 total cases and 943,624 deaths. 
 
Feb. 17, 2022: Case counts in the Berkshires are going down, albeit slowly. There were 425 positive cases in the past week compared to 721 last week.
 
That's an average of 61 cases per day compared to 103 the week before and 291 at the peak of the surge a month ago. 
 
There had been a blip in numbers with only 11 cases being reported on Tuesday, but that was quickly swamped with more than 100 on Wednesday. 
 
There have now been 22,166 positive cases total in the Berkshires. Pittsfield stands at 9,951 and is expected to crack 10,000 cases by next week. There were 196 cases reported in the last week (491 in the two weeks ending Feb. 12) but active numbers are down to 151 and 75 percent of the population is vaccinated. More than 200,000 tests have been administered. 
 
North Adams saw 181 new cases in the two weeks ending Feb. 12 for a total of 2,415 to date; Williamstown was third at 122 for a total of 1,206. Much of Williamstown's numbers have been driven by Williams College, which saw surge in cases despite constant testing and mandatory vaccination. However, those numbers should drop significantly last week as the college only had six positives out of more than 3,200 tests over the past seven days. Some 55 percent of the town's positives over the past two years were from the college. 
 
The fourth highest count was Dalton with well under 100 at 63 for a total of 1,122. 
 
The state numbers are 1,527,970 with new cases this week of 11,800. That's down from 18,117 last week for a difference of 2,588 a day compared to 1,686 this week. 
 
The number of count deaths was five and statewide 292, compared to 377 last week. 
 
Hospitalizations have tumbled, with 776 patients compared to more than 3,000 a month ago. The number of patients who are unvaccinated continue to shadow the number of patients who are primarily hospitalized for COVID-19. The numbers on Thursday were 47 percent unvaccinated and 43 percent hospitalized for the virus. There are 152 patients in intensive care and 74 intubated. 
 
Those patients are slightly more likely to be Black and about 20 percent are age 80 or older. Nearly 15 percent are age 19 or younger. 
 
BMC reports 11 patients of which about 75 percent are unvaccinated. 
 
The seven-day average positivity rate is now below 3 percent, at 2.76 percent; the county's 14-day average dropped by 4 points to 6.94 percent. 
 
 
Feb. 10, 2022: Cases are declining but are moving downward much faster statewide than in Berkshire County. The county's seen a drop of 24 percent over the past week compared to 57 percent statewide. 
 
Still, new cases in the Berkshires are down 65 percent from the second week in January. There were 721 new cases reported over the past week compared to 978 the week before for a total of 21,741. State numbers were 18,711, down from 31,738 last week, for a total of 1,516,170.
 
Pittsfield posted 264 new cases, or 37 percent of the cases reported this week, for a total of 9,755 to date. The number of active cases had dropped by more than half from a few weeks ago at just over 200. 
 
In the two weeks ending Feb. 5, Pittsfield reported 724 new cases. North Adams had 224 during that period for a total of 2,365 to date. Williamstown was higher with 262, for a total of 1,179, again driven by high numbers of positive cases at Williams College, which has 51 new cases in the past week for a total to date of 562 or 48 percent of the town's cases. Adams had 163 (total 1,452) and Dalton 103 (1,099). All other communities reported 71 or fewer cases. 
 
The county reported six more deaths for a total of 387. There have been 100 deaths reported since June 15, 2021, and 97 since the surge began at the beginning of August. The state reported 377 deaths this week for a total of 22,069. 
 
Hospitalizations are also dropping, with 1,161 reported on Thursday and of which 48 percent were not vaccinated and 47 percent were hospitalized for COVID-19. BMC has 26 patients, of which more than 75 percent are not vaccinated. It takes the death rate longer to slow after a surge because victims of the disease may be hospitalized for long periods. 
 
Local long-term care facilities had been able to keep the virus in check during this latest surge after several deadly outbreaks earlier in the pandemic. However, Springside of Pittsfield had reported 12 cases in its residents recently and sought the aid of the Department of Public Health. As of Thursday, the facility was reporting one positive case. Since March 2020, it reported 137 resident cases and 86 staff cases. 
 
The rates for the positive cases in vaccinated individuals was 8.3 percent this week, of which 0.13 percent were hospitalized and a 0.04 percent died. About 9 percent of the 22,069 deaths reported so far were vaccinated. 
 
The seven-day positive average rate for the state dropped by 2 points and is now 3.80 percent; the county's 14-day average also dropped by about 2 points but remains above 10 percent. 
 
The governor this week stated that the state mandate in place for face coverings in public schools would be lifted as Feb. 28; local governing boards will have the authority to continue masking dependent on their own situations. 
 
 
Feb. 3, 2022: The county reported 194 cases on Thursday and 152 on Wednesday, after dropping below 100 on Tuesday. More concerning, the number of patients at Berkshire Health Systems has climbed to 29 over the past few days -- three-quarters of whom are not vaccinated. Another 14 people also died over the past week, the highest weekly number in almost a year. 
 
Still, the number of cases over the past week has decreased from the week before with 978 reported compared to 1,478 last week. The county now has had a total of 21,021 cases of the novel coronavirus and 381 deaths.
 
The state numbers are continuing a more dramatic decline, with 31,738 cases, about half of that the week before and three weeks after hitting a record high of 146,000 three weeks ago. On Thursday, 4,829 cases were reported for a total of 1,498,053 to date. There were 421 deaths, including 59 reported Thursday, for a total of 21,692.
 
In better news, the seven-day average positive case rate has dropped to 5.89 percent, down from 9.48 percent last week. The county's 14-day average has also dropped but not as by much, coming in at 10.49 percent after sitting at more than 12 percent the previous two weeks. 
 
Pittsfield, again, logged the highest number of cases for the two weeks ending Jan. 29 with 1,079 and now totals 9,491 cases and 88 deaths. North Adams was again second with 277 cases for those two weeks and a total of 2,246; Williamstown had 273 for a total of 1,104; Dalton 163 for a total of 1,067, and Adams 159 for a total of 1,371. 
 
Williamstown's numbers again are being driven by positive tests at the college, which had 127 positive tests in the past week. The college had kept a tight lid on transmission and required full vaccination to attend but it hasn't seemed to be able to stop the omicron variant. Since August 2020, the college had a total of 601 positive cases, 475 in students and 126 in staff. It's run nearly 200,000 tests and its average positivity rate of 3.44 percent is far lower than the state or tri-county region.
 
Hospitalizations continue to decline with 1,661 patients statewide, of which 849 or 51 percent are not vaccinated. This figure has been about the same for the number of people who are in the hospital primarily for COVID-19, whether vaccinated or not. 
 
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the nation has had 75,907,127 cases and 896,238 deaths, with about 3,000 people a day dying over the past few months. Globally, there have been 387 million cases, 5.7 million deaths more than than 10 billion doses of vaccine administered.
 
 
 
Jan. 27, 2022: The total number of positive cases in the Berkshires broke the 20,000 mark with 21,271 reported on Thursday and the total number statewide is now 1,466,315.
 
The weekly numbers did decline for the second week in a row after hitting a record high on Jan. 13 of 2,038 in the county and 145,880 in the state. This week's reported tally is 1,478 in the Berkshires and 62,101 in the state. 
 
That's reflected in a decline in the positivity rate as well, with the seven-day state average at 9.48 percent, down from more than 15 percent last week. The county's 14-day average, however, has barely budged and still sits at above 12 percent. 
 
Hospitalizations are also beginning to decline, with the count as of Thursday at 2,571. Of those patients, 49 percent are not vaccinated and 49 percent are hospitalized primarily for COVID-19. The state does not give a breakdown of how those two data points intersect. The percent of patients who have "incidental" COVID-19 by testing positive when admitted for other reasons is at 51 percent.
 
The county reported nine more deaths this week and the state 489. 
 
The vaccination numbers haven't changed much with county still at about 76 percent full vaccination for those eligible and 51 percent having a booster shot. About 20,000 doses total were administered statewide this week. 
 
Pittsfield now has more than 9,000 cases at 9,112, or 45 percent of all county cases, and 88 deaths. The city has 1,448 new cases reported for the two weeks ending on Jan. 22. Second was North Adams with 358 (2,134), then Adams at 207 (1,291), Dalton at 204 (1,010) and Williamstown at 196 (948). Williamstown's numbers appear to be driven by Williams College, which reported 129 cases during that two-week reporting period and which had 115 cases just in the last seven days. 
 
 
Jan. 20, 2022: The number of positive cases took a dramatic dip over the past week that may indicate that this latest surge of COVID-19 peaked last week.
 
There were 98,384 cases in the past week, down from record number of 145,880 the week before. The seven-day average in positive cases was 23,000 on Jan. 8 and was 9,400 on Jan. 19. 
 
There has also been a reduction in the seven-day positive test average at 15.03 percent, down from more than 20 two weeks ago. 
 
The state reported 14,834 cases on Thursday for a total of 1,404,214; Berkshire County had 283 cases reported for a total of 18,565. The county's number for the past week did drop slightly from a high of 2,038 last week to 1,838 this week. 
 
Hospitalizations are still above 3,000 but the new reporting is showing a much different picture of actual illness — nearly half of all positive patients aren't being treated for the novel coronavirus.
 
Hospitals in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago began reporting "incidental" cases of COVID-19 in patients. That is, people weren't being hospitalized because of the virus but rather were testing positive after being admitted for other illnesses. 
 
Of the 3,192 patients this week, 49 percent were not in the hospital for COVID-19. This distinction is based on whether the patient was being treated with dexamethasone, an steroid, used for moderate to severe COVID-19.
 
At the surge's beginning in the fall, a steady two-thirds of patients were unvaccinated. That percentage fell over the past several weeks to closer to 50 percent.  
 
It's not clear how those two data points — number of vaccinated to unvaccinated and primary patients to incidental patients — correlate. 
 
Nearly 300 patients are intubated, or about 10 percent of all patients and more than 460 are in intensive care. 
 
Berkshire Health Systems currently has 34 patients on precautions; about two-thirds are unvaccinated. 
 
The county's vaccination rate is now 76 percent for those age 5 and older and 78 percent those age 12 and older, of which half have now received a booster shot. 
 
There was a jump in deaths over the past two weeks at 731 statewide, including 199 reported in one day, for a total of 20,782. The Berkshires saw nine deaths during the period for a total of 358,
 
Pittsfield stands at a total of 8,453 cases, 85 deaths and 613 active cases. It has seen its 14-day average case rate of 283 per 100,000 drop to 266 over three days, the first drop since the last spike began on Dec. 25, when it was 65 per 100,000. The city is 74 percent vaccinated. 
 
As of the two weeks ending Jan. 15, Pittsfield reported 1,623 cases. North Adams was second with 391 (total 1,977), then Adams at 243 (1,207), Lee at 224 (849), Great Barrington at 221 (1,014), and Dalton at 217 (921). Both Clarksburg and Cheshire, both of which had exposures in their senior centers, reported 36 (235) and 80 (440) new cases, respectively. Both towns have closed their centers temporarily.
 
Alford had the lowest number of cases at six for those two weeks, but it was nearly a quarter of the 22 total cases its had over the past two years. The towns with the lowest total number of cases are Mount Washington with 11 and New Ashford with 16. 
 
The national statistics are now 69,149,005 total cases and 859,839 deaths.
 
 
Jan. 13, 2022: Pittsfield now has had a total of 7,704 positive cases since March 2020 and currently has 764 active cases. The city has seen 2,605 new cases since the beginning of December 2021. That's compared to 1,004 cases during the same period last year. 
 
The city accounts for 46 percent of all cases in the Berkshires, which now stands at 16,727. In the past week, 2,038 new cases were reported and two more deaths, bringing that total to 351. 
 
The number of new cases reported over the past week was 2038, up from 1,572 the week before and and five times the number reported in the week ending Nov. 18. 
 
As of Jan. 8, North Adams had 1,757 total cases, up 194 from the week before, Adams had 1,081, Dalton 812 and Great Barrington was at 908. For the two weeks ending Jan. 8, Pittsfield reported 1,339 new cases, North Adams 286, Adams 190, Dalton 181 and Great Barrington 176.
 
The 14-day average positivity rate for the county is now 12.42 percent, up from 9.88 percent last week. The state's seven-day average rate dropped almost a point to 20.42 percent.
 
The total number of state cases is 1,305,830, up 145,880 from last week and the largest one-week increase so far. Nearly 19,000 cases were reported on Thursday. Deaths statewide are at 20,386, up 335 from last week. Tuesday and Wednesday this week saw a spike in reported deaths of 116 and 75, respectively. These may have been delayed reporting because of the holidays.
 
Hospitalizations are still climbing with more than 3,000 patients with COVID-19 of which nearly 300 are intubated. These numbers are now about the same as last year at this time and seven-day average of patients is higher. The percentage of those hospitalized who are unvaccinated has dipped closer to 50 percent after being steadily at about two-thirds. 
 
BMC reported 24 patients on precautions on Thursday and three of those at Fairview. 
 
However, hospitals are reporting that not all of those testing positive for the novel coronavirus are being admitted for that infection. Rather the virus has become prevalent and asymptomatic patients admitted for other reasons are testing positive. Hospitals were planning this week to differentiate out the data but the state has not said how this will be displayed on the daily dashboard. 
 
Agewise, patients 60 and older are still the highest number of hospitalizations, but more children are now being seen. More than 200 children ages 19 and younger have been hospitalized in the past two weeks and more than 1,000 people in the 20-49 age group.
 
More than 75 percent of the population is now vaccinated; the Berkshires rate for fully vaccinated eligible residents is also 75, with 88 percent having at least one shot and about 48 percent also having gotten a booster. 
 
As of Jan. 8, of the 5,120,310 fully vaccinated people in Massachusetts, there have been 262,060 breakthrough cases and 4,553 hospitalizations. There have been 1,054 deaths. In terms of percentages, 5.1 percent of vaccinated individuals tested positive, 0.09 percent were hospitalized and 0.02 percent died. 
 
Gov. Baker is resisting calls to revert to remote for school districts, some of which are having difficulty with staffing because of illness or quarantining. On Monday, he announced more than 26 million rapid results tests had been ordered with schools as the primary recipients. 
 
The state Department of Public Health also issued new guidelines stating that PCR tests are not required for return to work if the infected individual has quarantined for the now five days (per the CDC) and show no symptoms. Testing centers in some parts of the state have seen long lines for PCR tests; the state is encouraging more use of rapid antigen tests for those who are not symptomatic and who have not had a close contact with an infected individual.
 
As of Thursday, 520,205,266 doses of vaccine have been administered nationwide. The total count for cases in the country is 63,922,661 with 846,149 deaths.
 
 
 
Jan. 6, 2022: The state again saw record numbers of positive cases over the past week, hitting a high of 27,612 reported on Wednesday. There were 121,384 cases over the past week, almost double last week's 68,551.
 
The county also saw a surge in cases, with 1,572 reported over the past week, a 64 percent increase over the week before, with a high of 324 on Thursday. The total is now 14,689.
 
Pittsfield had the biggest jump with 713 cases in two weeks ending Jan. 1; as of Thursday, the total number of cases was 6,816. North Adams was second with 153 with a total of  1,563 to date. Dalton and Great Barrington both had 101 and Adams had 99 cases. Their totals to date are 695,792 and 971, respectively.
 
The dramatic rise in cases has been putting pressure on keeping school systems functioning, with Pittsfield closing Taconic High and Reid Middle schools on Thursday and Friday because of lack of staff. North Adams has said it's on the edge when it comes to staffing and pre-emptively called for a snow day on Friday in anticipation of trouble with predicted snowfall. 
 
Gov. Baker on Monday stated again that the priority would be to keep students in classrooms; any closures would be counted as snow days (unless special exemption is provided by DESE.)
 
Hospital cases have also increased but not in proportion to the cases. But the seven-day average has matched that of Jan. 4, 2021.  
 
There are more than 2,500 people hospitalized and more than 400 in ICU; 259 are currently intubated. The rate of unvaccinated had been steady at about two-thirds but has since dropped to 60 percent from breakthrough cases. 
 
However, the percentage of vaccinated individuals hospitalized is 0.08 percent, and breakthroughs are 3.5 percent (out of more than 5.1 million). Deaths of those fully vaccinated is 0.02 percent.
 
The state's percentage of vaccinated individuals is now 76. The county stands at 87 percent of all those eligible with at least one dose, 75 percent fully vaccinated and 72 percent by population.
 
The number of cases nationwide stands at 58,446,019 and deaths at 833,952.
 
 
Dec. 30: Positive cases of COVID-19 have exploded not only across the country but across Massachusetts. The state reported more than 20,000 new cases on Thursday and 68,551 over the past week. Thursday's report was nearly 300 percent of the number this time last year when the state was undergoing a significant wave. 
 
The total number hit 1 million earlier this week and, as of Thursday, stands at 1,038,566. Public health officials say this is largely being driven by the omicron variation that is highly transmissible. 
 
The county has also seen its numbers rise with 187 reported Thursday and 682 for the week. The Berkshires has seen more than 2,200 cases this month so far, compared to about 1,200 last December.
 
Pittsfield had 377 (total 5,570) new cases, North Adams 114 (1,448) and Great Barrington was third with 59 (721), for the two weeks ending of Dec. 25.
 
The seven-day positive average rate climbed from 7.60 percent on Dec. 23 to 16.44 percent. The seven-day average of daily confirmed cases is 7,637 compared to the last wave's high of 6,229 on Jan. 8, 2020.
 
Hospitalizations and deaths have climbed more slowly, with 201 deaths statewide this week and four in the Berkshires for totals of 19,773 and 342, respectively. The seven-day average is 26.5 deaths, compared to 175 on April 24, 2020.
 
Just over 1,800 people are hospitalized, with again about two-thirds unvaccinated, but the numbers have dropped from a high of 71 percent unvaccinated. This may be because most people are vaccinated. More than 5 million, or about 75 percent of the population is now vaccinated. 
 
There are now 28 people hospitalized with COVID-19 at Berkshire Medical Center.
 
The Berkshires is at 75 percent full vaccination for those eligible (ages 5 and older) and 71 percent of the total population. The state saw a jump in vaccinations about two weeks before Christmas for both second inoculations and booster shots.
 
Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated and boostered and to continue masking and social distancing. Even though there have been more breakthrough cases, they still account for only 2.7 percent of all cases, 0.07 percent of all hospitalizations and 0.02 percent of deaths.
 
Dec. 23: Two days before Christmas the the number of positive cases of COVID-19 rose by more than 9,000 statewide and 93 in the Berkshires, and the number of deaths was at 47, including 1 in the county. 
 
There were nearly 43,000 cases over the past week, with 517 recorded in the Berkshires. That's up from 30,000 during the same period in 2020. The numbers in the Berkshires more than doubled compared to 216 last year. 
 
The total number of positive cases now stands at 970,015 statewide and 12,435 in Berkshire County. There have been 19,572 deaths, with 338 in the county. Two of those deaths were in the past week. 
 
As of the two weeks ending Dec. 18, Pittsfield saw 385 new cases and now has a total of 5,678 or 46 percent of all cases in Berkshire County. North Adams reported 145 cases during that period and Adams, 50. 
 
The unvaccinated individuals continue to be the majority of hospitalizations, hovering around 70 percent. On Thursday, there were  1,632 people hospitalized, of which 1,132 were not vaccinated. There were 362 patients in ICU and 213 intubated. 
 
The rising number of infections and hospitalizations is happening despite the high rate of vaccinations. More than 5 million of the state's residents are fully vaccinated and more than 12.5 million doses have been administered. Berkshire County now has vaccination rate of 74 percent for ages 5 and older and 77 percent for 12 and older, and an overall rate of 71 percent. 
 
Eighty-four percent of all Massachusetts residents have received at least one dose. Rates of breakthrough cases in vaccinated people is 2.3 percent, hospitalizations is 0.06 percent and deaths, 0.02 percent.
 
Dec. 9: The number of positive cases jumped another 553 over the past week to 11,442 for Berkshire County and two more people have died. There have been 1,558 cases in the past four weeks compared to 925 last year, a rise of nearly 60 percent. The average number of cases reported during this period last year was 33 a day; this year, it's 56 a day. The county has seen more than 1,000 cases in the past two weeks.
 
The state reported 46,475 new cases in the two weeks ending Dec. 4. The three largest communities again posted the highest number of cases during that period: 408 in Pittsfield, 148 in North Adams and 129 in Adams.
 
The state now has 896,423 total cases since March 2020 and is on track to hit 1 million around the first of the year. The number of total deaths statewide is 19,190 and, in the Berkshires, 335.
 
The number of reported positive cases in children has exploded, with ages 5-9 and 10-14 having the highest rates per 100,000 and with more than 10,000 children ages 0 to 14 being infected in the last two weeks. The highest number of cases was still in the 20-39 age group at nearly 16,000. Senior citizens continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic even though vaccinations rates are high and cases low in that age group. More than 160 people ages 70 and older have died in the last two weeks and another 39 between the ages of 60 and 69.
 
There have been 11,824,188 vaccine doses administered to date and 4,959,190 people are considered fully vaccinated. The Berkshires percentage of people inoculated ages 5 and older is 71 percent. 
 
The 14-day positivity rate for the Berkshires is now 5.09 percent compared to the state rate of 4.46 percent. However, the state's seven-day average positivity rate has hovered around 5 percent the last two weeks and was 5.01 percent on Thursday.
 
Hospitalizations are spiking up but still quite lower so far than the two previous peaks of nearly 4,000 on April 27, 2020, and 2,428 on Jan. 4, 2021. The current numbers are 1,239, of which 66 percent were unvaccinated. BMC has had numbers in the teens, with 14 reported on Wednesday. 
 
The United States continues to lead the world in the number of cases and deaths from the pandemic with  49,621,791 total cases to date and 794,020 deaths. 
 
Dec. 23: Two days before Christmas the the number of positive cases of COVID-19 rose by more than 9,000 statewide and 93 in the Berkshires, and the number of deaths was at 47, including 1 in the county. 
 
There were nearly 43,000 cases over the past week, with 517 recorded in the Berkshires. That's up from 30,000 during the same period in 2020. The numbers in the Berkshires more than doubled compared to 216 last year. 
 
The total number of positive cases now stands at 970,015 statewide and 12,435 in Berkshire County. There have been 19,572 deaths, with 338 in the county. Two of those deaths were in the past week. 
 
As of the two weeks ending Dec. 18, Pittsfield saw 385 new cases and now has a total of 5,678 or 46 percent of all cases in Berkshire County. North Adams reported 145 cases during that period and Adams, 50. 
 
The unvaccinated individuals continue to be the majority of hospitalizations, hovering around 70 percent. On Thursday, there were  1,632 people hospitalized, of which 1,132 were not vaccinated. There were 362 patients in ICU and 213 intubated. 
 
The rising number of infections and hospitalizations is happening despite the high rate of vaccinations. More than 5 million of the state's residents are fully vaccinated and more than 12.5 million doses have been administered. Berkshire County now has vaccination rate of 74 percent for ages 5 and older and 77 percent for 12 and older, and an overall rate of 71 percent. 
 
Eighty-four percent of all Massachusetts residents have received at least one dose. Rates of breakthrough cases in vaccinated people is 2.3 percent, hospitalizations is 0.06 percent and deaths, 0.02 percent.
 
Dec. 9: The number of positive cases jumped another 553 over the past week to 11,442 for Berkshire County and two more people have died. There have been 1,558 cases in the past four weeks compared to 925 last year, a rise of nearly 60 percent. The average number of cases reported during this period last year was 33 a day; this year, it's 56 a day. The county has seen more than 1,000 cases in the past two weeks.
 
The state reported 46,475 new cases in the two weeks ending Dec. 4. The three largest communities again posted the highest number of cases during that period: 408 in Pittsfield, 148 in North Adams and 129 in Adams.
 
The state now has 896,423 total cases since March 2020 and is on track to hit 1 million around the first of the year. The number of total deaths statewide is 19,190 and, in the Berkshires, 335.
 
The number of reported positive cases in children has exploded, with ages 5-9 and 10-14 having the highest rates per 100,000 and with more than 10,000 children ages 0 to 14 being infected in the last two weeks. The highest number of cases was still in the 20-39 age group at nearly 16,000. Senior citizens continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic even though vaccinations rates are high and cases low in that age group. More than 160 people ages 70 and older have died in the last two weeks and another 39 between the ages of 60 and 69.
 
There have been 11,824,188 vaccine doses administered to date and 4,959,190 people are considered fully vaccinated. The Berkshires percentage of people inoculated ages 5 and older is 71 percent. 
 
The 14-day positivity rate for the Berkshires is now 5.09 percent compared to the state rate of 4.46 percent. However, the state's seven-day average positivity rate has hovered around 5 percent the last two weeks and was 5.01 percent on Thursday.
 
Hospitalizations are spiking up but still quite lower so far than the two previous peaks of nearly 4,000 on April 27, 2020, and 2,428 on Jan. 4, 2021. The current numbers are 1,239, of which 66 percent were unvaccinated. BMC has had numbers in the teens, with 14 reported on Wednesday. 
 
The United States continues to lead the world in the number of cases and deaths from the pandemic with  49,621,791 total cases to date and 794,020 deaths. 
 
 
Dec. 2: Positive case numbers have skyrocketed over the past three weeks and there is no sign of them leveling off soon.
 
The county recorded 1,406 new cases since Nov. 11 compared to 775 during the same time last year. The main difference is last year there wasn't a vaccine and this year, more than 75 percent of county's eligible population is fully vaccinated. 
 
Children ages 5 and up have been eligible for several weeks, with schools reporting well-attended vaccine clinics. Boosters are also available for anyone who had their vaccinations six months ago. 
 
Pittsfield has been in the red zone for nearly a week with 345 new cases in the two weeks ending Nov. 27 and more than 200 people currently infected. North Adams number is now 1,163 with 132 in the past two weeks and Adams had 94 new cases for a total of 742.
 
On Thursday, the county reported 118 new cases and the state more than 5,000 for a total now of 865,450. The seven-day average positive rate has doubled in the past three weeks: it sat at 2.15 percent on Nov. 11 and has been about 5 percent the past two days. 
 
The jump in cases, however, isn't being matched in hospitalizations and deaths. They're still high but a third lower than this time last year and currently at less than 1,000 statewide. Berkshire Medical Center rose to 20 patients at one point but was down to 16 on Wednesday. 
 
The proportion of patients who unvaccinated has hovered around two-thirds for months. The average age at death is 75 and the average age of patients is 34.
 
 
The number of deaths also has not, so far, reached the numbers we saw a year ago. The daily average is about half or less than that during the same period last year. More than 19,000 Massachusetts residents have died from the novel coronavirus.
 
The number of total cases nationwide is 48,823,110 and the number of deaths stands at 785,767.
 
Nov. 11: Berkshire County numbers continue to rise even though the number of new cases statewide have dropped in mi-September. 
 
The county reported more than 500 new cases in the past two weeks, averaging 40 new cases a day over the past three weeks. This compared to 40 cases total during the month of June. 
 
A spike in cases had been expected following Halloween, similar to what happened last year. But the county averaged only 29 cases a day for the month of November. 
 
There were 56 new cases reported for Thursday and a total fo 282 in the past week. There 290 cases the week before and 255 for the last week of October. 
 
In contrast, the state numbers hit a high of 12,646 for one week in mid-September and been below 9,000 a week for the past month. This past week's number showed a slight rise of around 300 from the week before. 
 
There also have been 15 deaths since the end of September, including four in the last week. 
 
The county's 14-day average positivity rate was 2.94 percent for the past week, higher than the week before and well above the state averate of 1.87 percent. However, the state's seven-day average has now spiked above 2 percent for the past several days and was 2.15 percent on Thursday.
 
The good news is that hospitalizations remain fairly low, with statewide numbers still around 530-540, where its been for the past month. The number of patients who are unvaccinated has also been steady at around two-thirds. 
 
The percentage of cases in those fully vaccinated is 1.2 percent; the percentage of deaths of those fully vaccinated is 0.01 percent. 
 
Berkshire Medical Center has seen its number rise, with 15 patients reported this week. 
 
Total doses of vaccine administered is now at 10,550,122 and the number of fully vaccinated is at 4,774,742. Nearly 700,000 booster doses have also been administered. 
 
The Department of Public Health had not yet updated the weekly vaccine dashboard or the county case dashboard as of 6:30 on Thursday.  
 
Oct. 28: We skipped last week because of other obligations but the trend hasn't changed much. After what a appeared to be a brief decline at the end of September, the number of new cases in the county has spun up with 477 reported in the last two weeks. 
 
Paradoxically, the state numbers have continued to decline, dropping below 9,000 in each of the past two weeks. The week ending Oct. 21 saw 8,837 new cases and this week, 8,337. This is down from a high of more than 12,000 in mid-September. 
 
Pittsfield saw a jump of 197 new cases for the two weeks ending Oct. 23; to date, the city reports 4,203 cases and 80 deaths, two of those in the last two weeks. North Adams was second with 68 cases (902 total) and Adams third with 59 (555 total). All other towns reported 20 or fewer cases and 19 of the 32 reported no cases or less than five.  
 
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, New Ashford has reported six cases and Mount Washington 7. 
 
Testing rates remain high, with many communities reporting more than 10,000 in the two weeks ending Oct. 23. The highest is Williamstown at more than 81,000. This is apparently due to the strict testing protocol being carried out at Williams College that affects students, staff and faculty. Nearly 17,000 tests were done in Great Barrington and nearly 16,000 in North Adams. Pittsfield was about 14,000. 
 
Despite thousands of new cases reported statewide, hospitalizations remain low. There are now 528 patients (six at Berkshire Medical Center) and about 75 who are intubated. The number of patients unvaccinated has been consistently between 62 percent and 69 percent, or about two-thirds. More than half are older than 80 years of age but nearly a quarter are in the 20-49 age group. The average age of death is 72, down slightly from earlier in the year, and the average age of patients is 36, up slightly. 
 
There have been 349 deaths since the end of September statewide and 11 in the Berkshires. During this same period last year, there were 546 statewide and two in the Berkshires. 
 
Positivity rates have remained low, with the county at 2.25 percent for the most recent 14-day average and the state at 1.69 percent Thursday for the seven-day average.
 
More than 10 million doses of vaccine have been administered. The county is now at 74 percent of eligible individuals fully vaccinated and 84 percent have had at least one shot. The overall rate is 66 percent. 
 
The state extended the school mask mandate to Jan. 15, 2022, in anticipation of vaccines for the 5 to 11 age group. The U.S. FDA has been recommended to give the Pfizer vaccine emergency authorization for use in children that age. Schools with 80 percent vaccination rates can lift the mask mandate for inoculated individuals only. At least a dozen schools say they have met that benchmark.
 
Oct. 14: The county saw its numbers climb over the past week with 190 new cases for a total of 8,434.  There have been 980 new cases since the beginning of September for an average of about 163 a week, or 23 a day. One more death in the county has been recorded for a total of 316. 
 
Pittsfield remains at the yellow level and passed the 4,000 mark for total cases but deaths have remained at 78 for nearly a month. Its vaccination rate for population is 66 percent, with 75 percent having at least one dose. There are 71 actively contagious individuals. 
 
North Adams' total number of cases is at 841 as of Oct. 9, with 49 reported for the two weeks ending on that date. Adams reported 25 during those two weeks for a total of 492. Great Barrington, which has a total of 547 cases, reported zero new ones over the past month. 
 
The state reported just over 9,000 new cases this past week and 775,963 cases total. The number of deaths stands at 18,427 with 85 over the past week. 
 
Hospitalizations have declined by nearly 100 since September, with 567 patients of which 64 percent were unvaccinated. The number of unvaccinated has been close to two-thirds since hospitalizations began to increase in August. The number of patients at BMC is five after being around 10 for the past week. 
 
The seven-day average positive test rate has creeped above 2 percent to sit at 2.03 percent on Thursday. The seven-day state average for positive cases has dropped from 1,896 on Sept. 13 to 968 as of Wednesday. 
 
The count's 14-day average positive rate is 1.55 percent, no change from last week, as of Oct. 12,  compared to the state's 1.82 percent. The number of vaccination doses stands at 9,777,003, up about 100,000 over last week, and residents fully vaccinated is 4,677,864, up about 20,000. The vaccination rate in Berkshire County for eligible individuals is 73 percent and those with one dose is 83 percent. The overall rate for population is 65 percent. This is about on pair with the statewide percentages. 
 
 
Oct. 7: The county recorded 133 new cases and three deaths over the past week, bringing the total to 8,244 and 315, respectively.
 
Cases declined slightly, with the county recording 19 cases a day compared to 20 the week before, and the state 1,297 this past week, compared to 1,456 last week. These are the lowest numbers since Aug. 26.
 
Pittsfield had a 129 cases in the two weeks ending Oct. 2, followed by North Adams with 36, Dalton with 30 and Adams with 21. The rest of the county had fewer than 15 cases and many had no cases at all.
 
 
Sept. 30: The county is ending the month with 140 new positive cases, down from the 183 reported last week. Since Sept. 2, there have been 657 cases reported, not far below the about 682 reported during August. There were fewer than 100 cases in July. 
 
Pittsfield remains in the yellow and had the highest reported number of cases in the two weeks ending Sept. 25 at 159. The total number of cases to date in the city is 3,847 or about 47 percent of all cases -- 8,111 -- since March 2020.  Dalton reported 29 cases and North Adams 25, the rest of the Berkshires reported 15 or fewer, with many reporting no cases. North Adams has had a total of 785 positive cases, Great Barrington 545, Adams 468, Dalton 383 and Williamstown 349.
 
The statewide seven-day average of positive cases has dropped from 1,892 on Sept. 13 to 1,080. The seven-day postivity rate has been below 2 percent for nearly a week and was 1.94 percent on Thursday. Hospitalizations and deaths have also taken slight dips in average. 
 
There were no deaths in the Berkshires in the past two weeks but there were 99 statewide for a total of 18,240. 
 
BMC reports nine patients on COVID-19 precautions; there are 618 patients statewide of which 100 are intubated. The percentage of patients who were unvaccinated has consistently ranged between 67 and 69 percent, or more than two-thirds. Sixty percent of those admitted were age 80 and older but the average age of patients has been around 35. 
 
Nearly 24,000 residents became fully vaccinated in the past week, at 4.6 million, and the number of doses administered is at 9,529,937. The percentage of eligible vaccinated individuals in Berkshire County is 72 percent (65 percent of the population) and the percentage with one dose in 82 percent. The Berkshires is about on par with most of the state's counties and is ahead of Franklin (71), Hampshire (65) and Hampden (63). Outside of the islands (both more than 100), the Cape and Middlesex counties are the highest at 80 percent.
 
BMC will begin offering booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine on Friday for individuals age 65 and older or who have certain conditions. 
 
 
Sept. 23: There are indications the number of positive novel coronavirus cases are on a downward trend both in the county and the state. The number of fully vaccinated state residents has risen by at least 30,000 in the past week and the number of hospitalizations has continued to decline from a high in early September. 
 
More than 6 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally and 386,156,227 nationwide. Massachusetts ranks second in states with the highest number of residents with at least one vaccine dose. Total vaccinated individuals is now at more than 4.6 million. Berkshire County has a rate of 72 percent of eligible individuals vaccinated and 82 percent who have had at least one dose. That still trails county in the eastern part of the state with Cape Cod at 80 percent and islands at 103 but is above the other three Western Mass counties of Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin. 
 
There were 183 cases reported in the past week for the second consecutive week, still down from a high of 221 for the weekend ending Sept. 2. There were 321 positive cases for the two weeks ending Sept. 18. During that period Pittsfield again reported the highest number of cases at 146, followed by North Adams with 26 and Sandisfield with 20. The majority of county towns had no cases or fewer than five. 
 
Pittsfield is still at the yellow level and reports 66 active cases and 65 percent of its population fully vaccinated. It had a 14-day positivity rate of 2.6 percent, with Great Barrington second with 1.63 percent, Adams at 1.51 percent and North Adams 1.47 percent.
 
There were two deaths bringing the total to 312. Statewide, the number is now 18,141 and nationwide, 682,816.
 
The state is indicating a drop in the number of positive cases from a high of more than 2,000 on Sept. 9 to just over 1,200 on the Sept. 22. Deaths, however, have increased to a seven-day average of 12.1 on Sept. 21, up from 11.6 on Sept. 6. The seven-day average of hospitalization has decreased by 600 after a high of 1,892 on Sept. 13.  There are now 606 patients, of which 397, or 66 percent, are not vaccinated and 96 are intubated. Berkshire Medical Center has reported 11 patients for the past few days. 
 
Sept. 16: The number of new positive cases in the county has remained fairly flat over the past month with an average of 184 a week. This is still very high compared to an average of 20 a week through July. 
 
There are now a cumulative number of 7,788 cases and 310 deaths, four within the past week. The state reports 736,279 cases, with 1,999 in the last day, for a seven-day average of 1,333, and 18,046 deaths, 92 in the last week. 
 
 In the two weeks ending Sept. 11, Pittsfield reported 132 cases, followed second by Adams with 23. The rest of the county had 20 or fewer, with North Adams recording 18, Great Barrington 17 and Williamstown 19. The total case count is 350 for those two weeks.
 
 There have been a number of cases in the schools but little spread; the Berkshire County House of Correction reported about 20 positive cases but no illness. 
 
Adams 14-day positivity rate was 2.47 percent, North Adams 1.16 percent and Pttisfield 2.34. Pittsfield reports 83 active cases and 77 total deaths, with two in the last month and three since March.
 
The county's 14-day incident rate is on par with Franklin's at just under 20 cases per 100,000; the highest is Hampden, which contains the city of Springfield, with about 40 per 100,000. Hampden and also had the highest total case count for Western Mass for those weeks at more than 2,500; the lowest statewide was Dukes and Nantucket at 89.
 
Hospitalizations have not been rising in proportion to new cases. Statewide there are now 675 patients  (compared with a seven-day average of nearly 4,000 in April 2020) with fewer than 100 on ventilators. Of those patients, the number who are nonvaccinated has remained around two-thirds. As of Sept. 11, the state's cumulative incident rate for positive cases in fully vaccinated individuals was 0.61 percent, hospitalizations 0.02 percent and deaths, 0.004 percent. There were eight patients reported at BMC. 
 
Williams College is continuing its weekly testing regimen and has required all students to be vaccinated. According to the college, 97 percent of staff and students have submitted proof of vaccination. For the seven days ending Sept. 16, there have been 4,101 tests administered and two positive cases. Since August 2020 when testing began, 128,197 have been administered and 43 students and 29 staff and faculty tested positive. 
 
MCLA also requires vaccinations for students and college employees and is participating in a testing regimen through the Broad Institute. The last update was the seven days ending on Sept. 10, during which 37 tests were administered and no cases were reported. Cases reported to MCLA from other sources totaled four and three were in isolation. 
 
The percentage of eligible individuals vaccinated in Berkshire County is 71 percent and partially vaccinated, 81; the overall vaccination rate is 64 percent. More than 9.3 million doses have been administered in Massachusetts and more than 380 million nationwide. There have been 41,789,037 cases nationwide and 670,034.
 
Sept. 9: the county reported a drop in positive cases over the past week with 151, compared to 221 the week before. Since the end of August, there have been 372 cases reported. About 40 percent of those cases were in Pittsfield. The total number of cases now stands at 7,605 and deaths at 306, with two more deaths reported on Thursday. 
 
Pittsfield had the highest number of new cases in the two weeks ending Sep. 4 at 143; Adams was third with 38 and North Adams with 27. The 14-day average positivity rate has spiked in smaller communities because of the low numbers of tests compared to positive cases. But Great Barrington, North Adams and Pittsfield are all under 3 percent; Adams, which is considering a mask mandate if cases don't drop, is at 4.75 percent. Clarksburg is at more than 5 percent and had seven total cases during those last two weeks. 
 
Pittsfield is following 55 active cases and has a total to date of 3,617 cases to date. Some 64 percent of city's residents are fully vaccinated. North Adams has had 746 cases total and Adams, 444.  
 
The state reports 723,633 total cases, with 2,096 reported Thursday. There have been more than 10,000 cases the last week but not significantly more than the week before. Deaths now stand at 17,954, up 55 from the week before. 
 
BMC has 10 patients and 11 pending tests; the number of deaths in the hospital are reported at 96. Overall, state hospitalizations have been fairly flat from the week before with more than 600 patients and close to 100 intubations. 
 
The number of COVID-19 cases in vaccinated individuals remains minimal: they make up barely a half percent of infections, two-tenths of percent of hospitalizations and 0.004 percent of deaths. Of the more than 4.5 million fully vaccinated people in the state, fewer than 24,000 have had positive tests and only 762 have been hospitalized. Currently, of the 622 patients reported hospitalized as of Sept. 8, approximately a third are vaccinated. Just over half of all patients are 80 years and older and a third are between the ages of 20 and 49. 
 
The percentage of eligible individuals fully vaccinated in Berkshire County continues to inch up and is now at 71 percent. This is still lower than some eastern parts of the state, for instance Cape Cod is at 79 percent and the islands are at more than 100 percent, which may indicate booster shots or nonresidents. However, the county is at 81 percent of eligibile individuals with at least one dose so the total percentage should improve of the next couple weeks.
 
Nationally, the total number of cases is more than 40 million and deaths at more than 650,000. More than 5.5 billion doses of vaccine have been administered, 377,000 of those in the United States. 
 
There have been a number of reported cases in the local school districts, including three in North Adams, three to four at BArT and four at Hoosac Valley Regional. No schools have closed but some staff and students have been asked to quarantine. 
 
 
Sept. 2: The number of positive cases continues to climb with the county recording 221 new cases in the last week and one death. There have been more than 800 new cases since the beginning of August compared to fewer than 50 the entire month of June. In that same period, there have been 16 deaths recorded compared to one in June. 
 
The total cases to date in Berkshire County is 7,454 and in the state, 712,988 (up more than 10,000 in a week); deaths are at 304 in the county and 17,899 in the state. 
 
The largest case count for the two-week period ending on Aug. 28 was Pittsfield with 159, with 74 active as of Sept. 2; Adams had 46 and North Adams 40. The 14-day positivity rate for the same period was up in almost every community although, again, smaller communities with less testing were inordinately high, such as Washington with 11.43 percent and Clarksburg with 7.95 percent. In both cases these towns had seven or fewer positive cases. Pittsfield had a rate of 2.73 percent and North Adams, 3.27 percent compared to the state average of 2.74 percent. The 14-day county rate was 2.64 percent for the second week. 
 
The Berkshires' daily incident rate during those two weeks was 21.5 per 100,000, similar to Bristol, Plymouth and Suffolk counties; Hampden was higher at 33.9 and Dukes & Nantucket was 56.5. The other counties were 20 or fewer. 
 
BMC is reporting about 10 patients and one in ICU; North Adams Commons, which was hit with breakthrough infections, now reports no residents are infected and one positive employee. BArT school has already seen five positive cases since opening two weeks ago and the North Adams Police Department reports four. 
 
Statewide hospitalizations have leveled off at about 600 with about 100 in ICUs. Of the 595 patients on Sept. 1, 150 were fully vaccinated. This means about 75 percent of patients are not vaccinated. Of total cases, vaccinated individuals make up 0.43 percent of positive cases, 0.01 percent of hospitalizations and 0.003 percent of deaths. 
 
There have now been 9,221,173 vaccine doses administered and 4,514,520 individuals are fully vaccinated. The percentage of eligible vaccinated individuals in Berkshire County is 70 percent and those with one dose is 80 percent. 
 
Aug. 26: The number of positive cases has continued to climb statewide and in the Berkshires. The county has recorded a total of 7,233 positive cases of the novel coronavirus to date and 303 deaths, including two in the past week. There have been 182 cases reported in the last seven days compared to less than 40 for the entire month of June. 
 
Since July 1, there have been 671 cases reported in the Berkshires and 87 percent of those cases were in July. There have been 15 deaths since July 1. In the two weeks ending on Aug. 21, North Adams reported 42 cases and Pittsfield 127; Adams was next highest at 31. 
 
Statewide, the total number of cases has topped 700,000. Thursday it was reported cases to date at are at 702,370 and deaths at 17,841, including 13 in the last 24 hours. 
 
Hospitalizations have also continued to climb with more than 560 patients of which 143 are in ICUs and half of those on intubation. The number of patients at BMC is nine as of Wednesday. More than 60 percent of those hospitalized were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. 
 
The average age at testing positive is 35 and the two largest age groups testing positive in the last two weeks are 20-29 and 30-39, totaling more than 6,000. However, nearly 4,000 infections have been reported in those 19 and younger. The average age at death has increased from about 70 to age 75. 
 
Overall, the total percentage of positive cases in vaccinated individuals is 0.35 percent; in hospitalizations 0.01 percent, and deaths, 0.003 percent. 
 
There have been 9,146,498 doses administered and 4,472,630 are considered fully vaccinated. The percentage of eligible individuals fully vaccinated in the Berkshires is 70 percent and those who had at least one does, 80 percent; 71 percent of the state population has received at least one dose.
 
The FDA gave final approval to the Pfizer vaccine this week; Moderna is still in the approval process.
 
The state Department of Education this week instituted a mask mandate for all staff and students who are indoors this fall. The earlier guidelines had recommended masks only for those unvaccinated.
 
Aug. 19: The county cracked the 7,000 mark in infections and 300 in deaths this past week. There have been 11 deaths since Aug. 5, with at least seven of those from the outbreak at North Adams Commons. As of Thursday, the nursing home was reporting only four residents testing positive and three staff. This is down from 57 residents and 13 staff over the past weekend. 
 
There were 155 new infections in the county within seven days, and 403 since July 29, when the number of new cases began to balloon. Hospitalizations have not taken off at the same rate, with BMC reporting six patients as of Wednesday. Statewide, that number is about 400 with fewer than 40 on ventilators. 
 
The daily number of new cases is closer to March and April of this year. There were 788 cases reported in April for an average of 26 a day; that dropped dramatically in May as the vaccine became more readily available. There were 230 cases in May for less than eight cases on average a day and in June, the total number of cases was only 37.
 
Over the last three weeks, the number of cases in the county has jumped to 403, or about 20 a day. Sixty-seven cases were reported in North Adams in the first two weeks of August and 86 in Pittsfield, which is now at the yellow level. North Adams has a positivity rate of 5.92 as of Aug. 14 but Pittsfield remains under 3 percent at 2.6. Great Barrington had the third highest number of cases in two weeks at 26.
 
North Adams, Pittsfield and Berkshire Hills have instituted mandatory face coverings for all staff and students and Berkshire Hills is also requiring staff and faculty be fully vaccinated. Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday signed an order for all executive branch staff to be vaccinated by Oct. 17. 
 
Aug. 12: The county reported five deaths in the past week, the biggest one week jump since March. 
 
North Adams reported 74 new cases between July 25 and Aug. 7, the bulk of these related to the outbreak at North Adams Commons that infected 55 residents and 12 employees. Pittsfield was a close second with 67, though by Thursday, the city reported only 33 active cases. Great Barrington reported 21; a handful of other towns were in the single digits or zero.
 
Fourteen-day positivity rates were up in most of communities and North Adams was at 7.34 percent. Egremont was the highest at more than 14 percent but this only related to five positive cases.
 
This was the second consecutive week that 124 new cases were reported. There have been 248 cases since July 29 compared to 86 between July 1 and 29. To date, there have been 6,896 cases in the county and 295 deaths.
 
The state has reported 7,403 new cases in the past week for a total of 684,836 and 36 deaths for a total of 17,761.
 
Hospitalizations statewide are nearing 400 after dipping below 100 in the spring; ICU patients are still under 100 and just over 30 people are on ventilators. The average age at hospitalization remains at 34 and the largest number of active infections — 2,947 — are in the 20-29 age group. The second highest number of cases, 2,216, is in the 30-39 age group.
 
The county's rate of eligible population fully vaccinated is at 68 percent and partially vaccinated is 78 percent. Pittsfield reports 61 percent fully vaccinated and 70 percent partial. More than 9 million doses of vaccine have been administered statewide and 4.4 million are individuals are fully vaccinated. 
 
 
Aug. 5: The county has seen a significant uptick in cases over the past week: 124. These numbers have not been seen since April. The total count is now 6,772 with 31 cases reported Thursday. In comparison, at this time last year, the numbers were averaging two or fewer a day, including a week with no cases.  
 
Deaths have not changed, with the total still at 290. There have been four deaths since the beginning of June.
 
The state saw 1,046 cases Thursday for a total of 677,433 and a total for the week of 5,789. Only 420 cases were reported for the last week of June.
 
North Adams and Pittsfield had the highest case counts over the two weeks ending July 31 at 34 each; as of Thursday, North Adams' total number was 642, up 44 cases since last week. The next highest were Adams with nine and Great Barrington 11. 
 
Fourteen-day positivity rates jumped across the county with only about a third of communities hitting zero percent after weeks during which only a handful of communities were about 1 percent or less. North Adams rate had dropped to just over 1 percent through the middle of July but jumped to 4.43 percent by the end of the month. 
 
The state's seven-day positive rate rose to 2.61 percent, up from 1.92 percent. The 14-day rate for the county is 2.10 percent and the state's is 2.11 percent. hospitalizations have climbed to 264 although there remain fewer than 20 intubated patients.
 
North Adams reinstituted a face covering requirement for access to public buildings as of Friday, Aug. 5; Adams has not done so but is "strongly encouraging" visitors to do so. 
 
The positive numbers in North Adams are being driven by breakthrough infections at North Adams Commons, which reported 43 residents and nine staff members infected as of Thursday. At least four of those infected were taken to Berkshire Medical Center. The hospital had eight patients on precautions as of Wednesday (it updates on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday).
 
The percentage of eligible individuals fully vaccinated is at 68 percent and the number with at least one dose is 78 percent. 
 
July 29: The Berkshires has seen a rise in positive cases since the end of June after weeks of two or fewer cases a day. Positive cases took a dramatic drop — after 202 cases during the entire month of May, only 11 cases were reported from June 1 to 15. The uptick came toward the end of the following week, with 111 new cases as of July 29 with nearly 60 of those in the past two weeks, as well as two deaths. 
 
In the two weeks ending July 24, Adams and Pittsfield saw the highest number of positive cases at nine each; Great Barrington had 5, Lenox 7 and North Adams 6. Alford had the highest 14-day positivity rate at 20 percent but this indicated five tests and fewer than five positives. 
 
As of Thursday, the state had 671,711 total cases, and 3,204 more than last week. This is five times the number of cases reported in the third week in June and almost three times that of second week in July. The average for this past week is 400 a day compared to 75 at the end of June. The largest number of new cases are in the 20-39 age groups at about 1,240 and the average age is 35. There have been 33 deaths over the past week for a state total of 17,711. 
 
The state's seven-day positive average rate has climbed to 1.92 percent, more than twice what it was last week. The county's 14-day positive average rate is up at 0.87 percent and the state's is at 1.46 percent. More than 4.3 million people have been fully vaccinated and the county's rate is now 68 percent of eligible residents. More than 800,000 people eligible statewide have not received at least one dose.
 
Hospitalizations have also climbed to almost 200 again with 17 intubated. 
 
July 23: The number of cases continues to rise despite a majority of residents having been vaccinated. Berkshire County saw one death and 28 new cases over the past week; the state reported 2,603 cases and 23 deaths. The numbers are nearly double that from the week before of 16 and 1,395, respectively. 
 
Adams and North Adams both saw the most new cases — six each — in the two weeks ending July 17; all other communities had zero or less than five. The 14-day positivity rates remain low, although Savoy had a rate of 4.76 percent because of the low number of tests (21).
 
Hospitalizations remain fairly low across the state and BMC on Friday reported no inpatients but six were pending tests. The seven-day average positive test rate for the county was 0.57 percent and 0.88 percent for the state.
 
The front-page coronavirus box was being updated once a week but because of the rise in cases, that will now change to Mondays through Thursday, when the state releases information. The COVID-19 tracker is not being updated on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and those figures are being rolled into Monday. 
 
The box above will continue to be updated on Thursdays with totals to date. 
 
 
July 15: Both Adams and North Adams showed a spike in case counts over the past two weeks ending July 10, with Adams reporting five cases for a total of 358 and North Adams 13, for a total of 592. All other communities had counts of five or less. However, the 14-day positivity rate percentages were high for Florida (6.67), Hancock (12.5), North Adams (3.73), Savoy (4.35) and Stockbridge (4.17) largely because the numbers of tests taken during this time were low in comparison. 
 
There were 30 reported cases in Berkshire County between June 27 and July 10, with North Adams accounting for 43 percent of new cases. The number from the week ending July 15 was 16; for that state it was 1,395, or nearly three times that of the week before of 508. The state over the past week averaged 200 new cases a day compared 81 the last week of June. 
 
The total number of cases in the county since March 2020 is now 6,590 and the number of deaths has been at 288 since mid-June. The total number of cases statewide is 665,801 and deaths 17,655, for nine more deaths in the past week. 
 
The state's seven-day average positive rate has ticked up to 0.87 percent after being in the 0.30 range for several weeks. The county's 14-day average positive rate as of July 13 was 0.69 percent compared to the state's 0.51. 
 
There are about 100 people hospitalized and 18 intubated. BMC has no COVID-19 patients and four inpatients pending tests. The number of vaccine doses administered as of July 19 stands at 8,786,702 and the number of people fully vaccinated at 4.3 million. The state's population is about 6.9 million and the number 18 and older 4.9 million.
 
July 8: the seven-day average positive rate has risen to 0.47 percent after weeks in the low 0.30s or less. The average age of infection is 37 and more than 500 new cases were reported in the last week. 
 
There have been 664,406 cases statewide and 17,646 deaths, 13 in the last week. There have been a dozen new cases in Berkshire County since last week but no deaths.
 
North Adams had 12 new cases for the two weeks ending July 3. Most of these cases are linked to an outbreak at a local establishment. The next closest was Pittsfield with five. Both Hancock and Florida had high two-week percent averages (12.5 and 6.25, respectively) but had fewer than five positive cases each. North Adams had the next highest rate of 2.98 percent. The county's 14-day positivity average was 0.43 percent.
 
There are fewer than 100 patients and only nine who are intubated. The number of fully vaccinated individuals now stands at 4.25 million and more than 70 percent of residents have received at least one dose. 
 
July 1: There have been 11 new cases in the county over the past week including four reported Thursday for a total of 6,562. There have been no deaths in the past week. Sheffield continues with the highest case count of 5 and a 14-day average positive rate of 3.47 percent. Peru also has a rate higher than 1 percent, at 1.14. Eight communities, including North and Pittsfield, had fewer than five cases reported in the two weeks ending on June 26.
 
The state has had 420 new cases including 76 reported Thursday and 11 deaths, three of those reported Thursday. The state numbers now stand at 17,633 deaths and 663,898 cases. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.37 percent.
 
Hospitalizations remain at about 100 statewide and 11 patients are currently intubated. BMC has one patient on precautions and nine pending tests. The average age of people testing positive is 36 and the average age at death is 72.
 
National cases stand at 33,675,013 and deaths at 604,972. Globally, there have been 182,427,888 cases and 3,950,395 deaths. More than 3 trillion doses of vaccine have been administered. 
 
Pittsfield reports 57 percent of its residents fully vaccinated. There have been 8,636,025 doses of vaccine administered statewide and 4.2 million people are now fully vaccinated. 
 
June 24: Since our last update on June 15, there have been 14 new cases reported in Berkshire County, including one today, for a total of 6,551. There has been one death, bringing the toll to 288. Nine of the county's 32 communities have a 14-day positive average rate above zero, including Sheffield with the highest at 4.35 percent. This accounts for a spike of six cases between June 6 and June 19. Seven other communities had counts of less than five each, including Adams and Pittsfield. 
 
The five communities with the highest total case numbers as of June 19 were 352 for Adams, 461 for Great Barrington, 337 for Lee, 579 for North Adams and 3,002 for Pittsfield. 
 
The seven-day positive average rate for the state is 0.32 percent and the 14-day positive average rate for the county is 0.31 percent.
 
Since last week, there have been 568 new cases statewide and 36 deaths for totals of 663,478 and 17,622, respectively. However, the number of active cases stands at less than 1,700 and the number of hospitalizations is below 100, with only 15 patients intubated. 
 
The number of single doses of vaccine stands at 8,505,005 and the total of people fully inoculated at 4,125,320.
 
 
June 15: the state of emergency declared in March 2020 ends as of today, Tuesday. The Legislature is still working through some extensions of the public health regulations and related issues such as mail-in voting and remote participation at public meetings. 
 
The state's active cases are now below 2,500 and hospitalizations were at 124,  with 24 intubated. There was one case in Berkshire County for a total of 6,357 and no deaths; statewide there were 55 cases and two deaths. Nationally, the number of deaths from COVID-19 passed 600,000 and total cases are at 33,485,557.
 
In good news, the state passed 4 million fully vaccinated individuals at 4,003,540; 8,329,413 have had at least one vaccine dose.
 
This is the last daily update for this page; we will shift to an end of week update beginning this week and through the next month. 
 
June 14: The county again recorded no deaths and no new cases. The state now has 2,636 active cases, adding 44 new cases Monday for a total of 662,855 and eight deaths, bringing that total to 17,584. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.42 percent. The governor had set a goal of 4 million fully vaccinated individuals by this week but we are still 30,000 short. Vermont reached the 80 percent goal of vaccinating the population and has fully reopened. Massachusetts' emergency order expires tomorrow, Wednesday, with some caveats and the Legislature is expected to pass some extensions until later this summer. 
 
June 13: There were only 33 new cases in the state on Sunday, one of which was in Berkshire County. There were no deaths from COVID-19 at all. The seven-day positive average rate was 0.42 percent.
 
June 12: there were no deaths and no cases reported in the county. The state reported 113 new cases for a total of 662,778  and two more deaths for a total of 17,576. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.44 percent. There are only 136 patients statewide.
 
June 11: The county's numbers ticked up by two for a total of 6,535 and no deaths. There were eight more deaths statewide for a total of 17,574 and 121 new cases for a total of 662,665. There are now fewer than 3,000 active cases in the state.
 
The seven-day average positive rate has dropped below a  half percent, to 0.47, and 3,934,823 of the state's residents and out of state students and workers are fully vaccinated.
 
June 10: Berkshire County is completely in the gray for the first time since last October. There were only two reported cases, no deaths and no patients at BMC, although three people were pending tests. 
 
Over the past two weeks, only four communities reported new cases with Pittsfield the highest at nine. Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge reported fewer than five each. Those same four communities also had the only 14-day positivity averages: Lee had 1.78 percent, Lenox  0.47, Pittsfield 0.57 and Stockbridge 1.41. The county's 14-day average was 0.9 percent with a total case count of 16. The only county lower in cases was Franklin with 10; Hampshire had 17.
 
The state reported 85 new cases for a total of 662,544 and seven deaths, bringing the toll to 17,566. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.51 
 
The number of active cases in people 60 and older has dropped dramatically to 315 total. The highest group for some time, ages 20 to 29, stands at 397 after months in the thousands. The total number of active cases is 3,191.
 
More than 8.2 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state and 3.9 million people are now considered fully vaccinated. Nationally, about 306 million doses have been administered and about half the population age 12 and older is vaccinated. More than 2.2 billion doses have been given globally.
 
June 9: the county recorded no deaths in the past two days and only two new cases on Wednesday. The state numbers over two days were 216, with 116 recorded on Wednesday for a total of 662,459; there were seven deaths, with five on Wednesday, for a total of 17,559. The state's seven-day positive average rate is 0.55 percent. 
 
June 7: the county has had three new cases and one death over the past four days. The count now stands at 6,529 cases and 287 deaths.
 
There were 608 new cases statewide since June 3, with 89 recorded Monday, for a total of 662,243 cases. There were 22 deaths over four days, with four reported Monday, for a total of 17,552. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.53 percent.
 
Pittsfield has one active case and 3,196 total; deaths remain at 75.
 
BMC has one patient; there are now fewer than 200 patients statewide, with 65 in intensive care and 35 intubated.
 
More than 8 million doses have now been administered statewide and the number of fully vaccinated stands at 3.85 million. The number of adults fully vaccinated is about 70 percent.
 
Regular reporting on data by iBerkshires will cease as of the lifting of the state of emergency on June 15.
 
June 3: The county reported no new cases and no deaths for the second day in a row. Over the past two weeks, only Pittsfield had case counts of more than five, with a total of 23. North Adams total count was actually lowered by one. No community had a positive percent average above 3 percent and the highest 14-day average was Otis at 2.2 percent. Adams had 0.97 percent, North Adams zero, Pittsfield 1.09, and Williamstown 0.02 percent.
 
The entire county is in the gray with the exception of Pittsfield, which is the second week at the green level. The city reported one active case and 3,195 total cases. It has not reported a death since March 31.
 
The state reported seven deaths for a total of 17,530 and 241 new cases for a total of 661,635. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.62 percent.
 
June 1: The county started out the month with one new case and no deaths. The totals are now 6,526 and 286, respectively. These numbers include Monday, which was a holiday.
 
The state numbers are 12 deaths for a total of 17,520 and 179 new cases for a total of 661,294. The seven-day positive average rate is 0.68 percent.
 
The state lifted all COVID-19 precautions as of Saturday with the exception of some masking restrictions, particularly for those who are not fully vaccinated. Face coverings are still required in schools, health facilities and public transportation. Private venues may set their own guidelines and may still require face coverings and social distancing.
 
Hospitalizations stand at about 225 statewide with 38 patients intubated. BMC reports no patients but there are five precautions pending tests.
 
The number of fully vaccinated now stands at 3.7 million and Massachusetts ranks third behind Vermont and Maine for percentage of population vaccinated at 53.38 percent. The percentage of vaccinated adults is higher, about 68 percent.
 
Reminder that the regional clinics in Great Barrington, North Adams and Pittsfield are no longer administering first shots because of the accessibility of the vaccine. They will be providing scheduled second doses over the next two weeks.
 
May 30: the state adjusted the total cases number to reduce 6,525. This means the county has had no cases for at least the past three days and, again, has had no deaths.
 
The state reported 146 new cases for a total of 661,115 and four more deaths for a total of 17,508. The seven-day positive average rate is 0.66 percent, there are about 236 patients statewide and the number of active cases is estimated at 6,702.
 
The age group of 20-29 has the highest number of active cases but this is now about 1,000.
 
There will be no numbers released on the Monday holiday and they will be rolled into Tuesday's report.
 
May 29: The county reported three new cases for a total of 6,529 and no deaths. The state reported 203 new cases for a total of 660,969 and nine deaths for a total of 17,504. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.69 percent.
 
May 28: The county register no new cases and no deaths for the first time since Oct. 18. The state reported 253 new cases for a total of 660,766 and four deaths for a total of 17,495. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.74 percent. 
 
Gov. Charlie Baker signed an order rescinding the public health emergency as of June 15; all restrictions except on public conveyances and medical facilities are lifted as of Saturday. Those not vaccinated are encouraged to continue masking and social distancing.
 
The number of fully vaccinated is 3,599,402 with a goal to reach 4 million. As of Thursday, 78 percent of the population has had one dose of vaccine. New cases have dropped 94 percent and hospitalizations are down 90 percent since peaking earlier this year.
 
May 27: The county's 14-day average positivity has dropped dramatically to 0.60 percent, nearly half the state's 1.03 percent. Only Hampshire and Middlesex counties are lower at 0.25 and 0.59 percent respectively.
 
The only community still above 3 percent is Clarksburg at 3.92 percent, which only had two reported cases for the past two weeks for a total of 44. Only three communities reported any cases in the past two weeks: Adams 8, Great Barrington 9 and Pittsfield 41. North Adams reported two.
 
The entire county with the exception of Pittsfield is in the gray; Pittsfield has dropped into the green after three preceding weeks in the yellow.
 
The county reported five new cases for a total of 6,526 and no deaths. The state reported 215 new cases for a total of 660,513 and nine deaths bringing that toll to 17,491. The number of active cases statewide is estimated at 7,843 and seven-day positive average rate is 0.80 percent.
 
May 25: The county again had only one new case for a total of 6,514 and no deaths. The state reported 195 new cases for a total of 659,916 and 10 deaths for a total of 17,475. The seven-day average positive rate is 0.93 percent, the fourth day below 1 percent. The number of hospitalizations stands at 248 statewide and there are no patients at BMC, although one is pending tests. 
 
 
May 24: The county recorded only a single new case for the first time since Halloween and no deaths. There were two cases reported on Sunday. The state number is now below 200, with 188 new cases reported — the lowest number since late last summer. Monday's reported state cases was barely 2 percent of the highest daily figure so far in 2021 of 7,635 on Jan. 8. There are  659,721 total cases to date and two more deaths reported for a total of 17,465. 
 
The seven-day positive average rate is now at 0.92 percent, the third consecutive day the average has been below 1 percent. There are an estimated 9,804 active cases in the state of which 12 are in Pittsfield. The city estimates that 60 percent of its residents are now vaccinated and it has had a death since March 31.
 
May 22: The county reported four new cases for a total of 6,510 and no deaths. The number of cases reported daily has been in the single digits for the past nine days.
 
The Berkshires was seeing 25 new cases a day on average throughout the month of April; in May, that has dropped by nearly two-thirds to about eight. January saw the highest daily average numbers at 50 and December at 37. 
 
The state's numbers have similarly steadied around to between 350-650 a day, with the latest number of 405 for a total of 659,246. The number of deaths was five for a total of 17,458.
 
Hospitalizations have dropped below 300 and the number of intubated patients is now 46. The average age of patients has risen to 59 and age at death to 70.
 
The number of single doses of vaccine administered is 7,482,859 and the number of fully vaccinated stands at 3,419,127. These numbers include people who work and go to school in the state. The number of single doses nationally is 281,310,627; the population is 330 million.
 
May 21: the county reported four new cases for a total of 6,506 and no deaths. The state had 400 cases for a total of 658,841 and 11 deaths for total of 17,453. Pittsfield currently has only 17 active cases. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.05 percent.
 
May 20: The county lost another life to COVID-19, the fourth this month, for a total of 286 to date. However, only three towns in the county are now above 3 percent for their 14-day average positivity — Adams, Monterey and Windsor — and the total number of new cases reported was five, bringing the cumulative total to 6,502. Fully one-half of all towns had zero percent and Williamstown was close with an average positivity rate of 0.05 percent.
 
The only towns with more than five cases over the past two weeks were Adams (18), Great Barrington (15), North Adams (14) and Pittsfield (67). According to the state numbers, North Adams had only one new case in the last week ending May 15. And as of May 15, the state's status map shows Great Barrington and North Adams in the green and Adams and Pittsfield in yellow, although Pittsfield's dashboard has the city in the green as of Thursday, May 20. 
 
Statewide, only Lawrence and New Bedford are in the red although most of the eastern end of the state is yellow or green.
 
As of May 19, the county's 14-day average positivity rate had dropped to 0.98 percent compared to the state's 1.21 percent. Berkshire County is the fifth lowest with Hampshire County the lowest at 0.29 percent, the same as last week, and Dukes and Nantucket the highest still at 4.76 percent. 
 
The state recorded 538 new cases for a total of 658,441 and nine deaths, for a total of 17,442. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.03 percent. The number of doses of vaccine administered stands at 7,344,364 and 3,330,308 people are now fully vaccinated. Nationwide, the number of total doses is 278,872,323.
 
A reminder that you no longer need an appointment to get the vaccine at the three Berkshire regional clinics; vaccines are also available at local Walgreens and CVS drug stores. Anyone age 12 and older is eligible for the vaccine. 
 
May 18: The county recorded only four new cases for a total of 6,494 and no deaths. Pittsfield reported only one case and that 58 percent of it population is now fully vaccinated.
 
The state reported 359 new cases for a total of 657,478 and six deaths for a total of 17,419. The seven-day average positive percent is 1.06. There are now fewer than 13,000 active cases in the state and 326 patients, of which 54 are intubated. BMC has one patient and five pending tests. The average age at hospitalization is 55 and the average age at death 70.
 
 
May 17: The governor on Monday moved up the pace of reopening the state by nearly two months. COVID-19 capacity restrictions will be largely lifted effective May 29, along with wearing masks in many settings. The state of emergency is set to be lifted June 15 as long as public health data continues to improve. These decisions are based on the state expecting to reach the goal of having 4.1 million residents fully vaccinated by early June. 
 
So far 7,168,399 residents and those working and attending school have received at least one dose of vaccine; 3,217,296, or about 58 percent of all adults, are fully vaccinated. The rate of people returning for their second shot is 99 percent.
 
The county reported five new cases for a total to date of 6,490 and no deaths. The state had 19 deaths for a toll of 17,413 and 281 new cases for a total of 657,119. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.02 percent.
 
 
May 15: the county reported eight new cases for a total of 6,478 and no deaths. The state reported 657 cases for a total of 656,344  and five deaths for a total of 17,389. The seven-day positive average rate is 1.03 percent.
 
 
May 14: The county reported seven new cases for a total of 6,470 and no deaths. The state reported 337 new cases for a total of 655,687 and 18 deaths for a total off 17,384. The seven-day positive average rate is 1.14 percent. 
 
More than 7 million people in Massachusetts have now received at least one dose of vaccine and about 58 percent of Pittsfield residents have had one dose and 43 percent are fully vaccinated. National numbers are now 32,883,624 cumulative cases and 585,073 deaths.
 
 
May 13: The CDC announced today that people who have been fully vaccinated (two weeks past their final shot) do not need to wear masks outside or in most indoor situations. Masks are still recommended on public transportation, planes, in hospitals and doctors offices, and prisons. This does not pre-empt state mandates or business preferences.
 
If you have not yet been vaccinated, you should continue to mask.
 
About 43 percent of Berkshire County residents are fully vaccinated and 59 percent have received at least one dose.
 
Adams, North Adams and Pittsfield remain in yellow and Dalton and Great Barrington are in the green. The 14-day positivity rates according to the state are 2.81 percent for Adams, 1.78 for North Adams and 3.24 for Pittsfield. Thirteen of the county's 32 towns registered 0 positivity, including Alford, Clarksburg, Hancock and Stockbridge. Williamstown had 0.01 percent. Both Florida and Windsor had 11.63 percent but in both cases had fewer than five reported cases in two weeks.
 
The county's 14-day average positive rate is 1.42 percent; Hampshire County is the lowest with 0.32 and Dukes & Nantucket the highest at 5.12. The state's seven-day average positive rate is 1.15 percent.
 
The average of hospitalization has dropped to 55 but average age at death remains at 70. There are now fewer than 400 patients statewide, including three in BMC.
 
The county reported seven new cases for a total of 6,463 and no deaths. The state had 616 new cases (655,350) and nine deaths (17,366).
 
The COVID-19 dashboard has been late or not loading properly the last few days and May 12's data was not posted to the front page.
 
May 11: the state recorded no deaths for the first time since July 23, 2020. The number of new cases was 472 for a total of 654,108 and the county reported four for a total of 17,344. The seven-day average positive test rate was 1.32 percent. The number of fully vaccinated residents stands at 3,005,473, or about 43 percent of the state.
 
May 10: the county recorded two more deaths on Monday, for the third death this month. The total number of deaths is now 285. There were six new cases, for a total of 6,437, and 446 statewide for a total of 653,636. The number of deaths was 14 for a total of 17,344. The seven-day positive average rate was 1.26 percent and there were two patients at BMC. 
 
The FDA on Monday authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children as young as 12. Statewide, 6,792,614 people have had at least one vaccine dose and 2,962,937 are fully vaccinated. These numbers also include people who work and attend school in Massachusetts.
 
May 9: the county recorded 10 new cases for a total of 6,431 and the state 655 for a total of 653,190. There were no deaths in the county but six statewide for a total of 17,330. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.24 percent. Some 6,738,477 residents have now received at least one vaccine dose and 2,927,088 are fully vaccinated.
 
The state moves into Step 2 of Phase IV on Monday, allowing large venues to open to 25 percent occupancy and the resumption of certain athletic events. More restrictions are scheduled to be lifted May 29.
 
May 8: The county recorded its first death in weeks on Friday, bringing the total to date to 283. The county reported 19 new cases on Friday and nine on Saturday for a total of 6,421.
 
The state had 881 on cases on Friday and 795 on Saturday, for a total of 652,535. There were 26 deaths reported over the two days for a total of 17,324. The seven-day positive average rate on Saturday was 1.32 percent.
 
May 6: the state passed 650,000 in total cases on Thursday with a report of 1,004 bringing the count to date to 650,859. There were five more deaths bringing the toll to 17,311. The county reported 18 new cases, for a total of 6,393, and no deaths.
 
BMC reports five on precautions and the total hospitalizations statewide has dropped below 500 though 137 people are still in ICUs. The average age of hospitalizations is 60 and average age at death, 70.
 
The number of cases in those 70 and older has dropped below 500, and below 2,000 for 60 and older. There are currently 20,498 estimated active cases statewide. Pittsfield has only updated its dashboard as of Monday, May 3, to show 3,111 total cases and 52 active cases. There has not been a death in the Berkshires since April 15.
 
The seven-day average positive rate is 1.37 percent; the Berkshires 14-day average positive rate is 1.55 percent. More than 6.5 million residents have now had at least one dose of the vaccine.
 
May 4:  The county reported 11 new cases, for a total of 6,359, and no deaths; the state had 718 new cases for a total of 648,967 and five deaths, for a total of 17,293. The seven-day average positive rate was 1.6 percent. National numbers now stand at 32,499,987 cases and   578,208 deaths.
 
May 3: Gov. Patrick on Monday announced that the state's vaccine dosage were expected to double and the Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative opened three clinics this week to walk-ins. Some 6.3 million doses have been administered and 2.6 million adults are now fully vaccinated.
 
"This represents an incredible achievement that people in Massachusetts are outperforming the rest of the country by leaps and bounds," the governor said on Monday. "As a result, hospitalizations are down by 77 percent since Jan. 1, new positive cases are down by 82 percent since Jan. 1, and the most vulnerable residents in Massachusetts are protected from this terrible virus."
 
In comparison, the number of active cases was 79,261 on Jan. 3 and 23,676 on May 3. The number of cases for those 60 and older was 11,718 on Jan. 3 compared to 1,837 May 3. There were 2,291 patients and 416 in ICU at the beginning of the year; on May 3, hospitalizations stood at 522 with 133 in ICU. 
 
The county recorded 10 new cases and the state 481 for totals of 6,348 and 648,249, respectively. The county had no deaths and the state 18, for a total of 17,288. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.49 percent, compared to 8.42 percent on Jan. 3.
 
May 2: The county had a total of 43 new cases over the weekend, 29 on Saturday and 14 on Sunday, for a total of 6,338. The state had a total of 1,901 for 647,768 cases to date. There were 11 deaths but none in the Berkshires.
 
As of last week, approximately 65,949 county residents have received at least one dose of vaccine; about 46,027 are fully vaccinated. The county has a population of about 124,944 so about 37 percent are now fully vaccinated.
 
 
April 30: more than 6 million of the state's 7 million residents, and those who may work or go to school here, have had at least one dose of vaccine. Some 2.5 million are now fully vaccinated.
 
The county recorded 19 new cases, for a total of 6,295, and the state 1,179, for a total of 645,867. There were no deaths in the county but 16 in the state for a total of 17,259. The seven-day positive average rate is 1.65 percent. National numbers are 32,337,011 cases and 575,845 deaths.
 
 
April 29: The county's two cities had the highest number of new cases over the past two weeks with North Adams reporting 49 and Pittsfield 140. Adams, the largest town, reported 25. However, Adams has dropped into the yellow category after four weeks in the red; Dalton, North Adams and Pittsfield are also yellow and all other communities are in the gray. Adams has a 14-day average positivity rate of 2.81 percent; Dalton 2.83; North Adams 2.55, and Pittsfield 3.19. 
 
Florida and Otis both had high rates of 6.98 percent and 7.84 percent, but again this is a matter of low cases numbers/tests. Florida had fewer than five cases over the past two weeks for a total of 16 and Otis eight new cases for a total of 63.
 
As of April 24, North Adams reported a total of 556 cases; Pittsfield as of April 28 had 3,064 with about 60 active cases but about half its population vaccinated.
 
The county added 23 new cases (6,276) and the state 1,260 (644,688). The county had no deaths and the state 16 (17,243). The seven-day average positive rate is 1.63 and hospitalizations have dropped below 600. The average patient age is 61 and the age at death is 69. 
 
April 28: the numbers went back up Wednesday with the county recording 27 (6,253) new cases and the state 1,392 (643,428). There have been no deaths reported in the Berkshires for 14 days. The state reported 12 (17,227).
 
The seven-day positive average rate remains at 1.71 percent; the county's 14-day average is now 1.59 percent. According to the weekly county report, the Berkshires saw 307 new cases over 14 days for a daily average of 17.3 per 100,000.
 
April 27: Citing improving public health data, the governor on Tuesday announced the state could be fully by Aug. 1 or even earlier. Large venues can open with 25 percent capacity May 10, and sports tournaments and road races can resume. Parades, street festivals, bars and beer gardens (seated service) can open May 29 and all remaining industries will be back to something normal by August.
 
The county only added two new cases, the lowest number since March 6,for a total of 6,226 and no deaths. The state reported a second day of cases below 1,000 — 825 — and four deaths for totals of 642,036 and 17,215, respectively. The seven-day positive average rate is 1.71 percent. Some 5.8 million single doses of vaccine have been administered and 2.4 million — or about 34 percent — are fully vaccinated.
 
April 26: The seven-day positive average rate has been below 2 percent for three consecutive days — at 1.74 on Sunday and 1.72 on Monday. Positive cases reported Monday morning are aso the lowest in some time at 812, although this may a product of lower testing on the weekend. The county numbers haven't dipped much with 20 more cases reported but, again, no deaths.
 
The state now has a total of 641,211 cases and the county 6,224; there were 12 deaths statewide for a total of 17,211. Hospitalizations have dropped to 625 statewide and four in the Berkshires but intubations remain at about 100, where they have been for several months. Pittsfield still has more than 700 active cases and more than 400 households in quarantine.
 
 
April 24: the county reported 18 new cases for a total of 6,182 and no deaths. The state reported 1,386 new cases for a total of 639,314 and 12 deaths for a total of 17,193. The seven-day positive average is 1.89 percent. The national numbers are 32,042,857 total cases and 571,910 deaths.
 
April 23: Pittsfield has passed the 3,000 mark for cumulative cases of COVID-19; more than 740 cases are active. However, the city has not had a death since March 31 and the number remains at 75. The city has seen 27 percent of all deaths in the county.
 
The county reported 20 new cases for a total of 6,164 and no deaths. The state had 1,452 new cases and 13 deaths for totals of 637,928 and 17,181, respectively. The seven-day average positive rate was 2.03 percent.
 
Statewide, there are 30,262 active cases and the bulk continues to be ages 29 and younger, with just over 5,000 cases between ages 20 and 29 and 1,223 found in children 4 and younger. All together, there are 2,343 cases in ages 60 and up, reflecting vaccinations in that age group. The average age of hospitalization is still in that age group at 61 and the average death age is 70.
 
More than 5.5 million doses of vaccine have now been administered. The Berkshires has received 104,370 doses, or enough single doses for 83 percent of the population; 49 percent have received at least one dose and 33 percent are fully vaccinated.
 
April 22: A number of communities remain above the 3 percent mark for 14-day average positive cases in the latest weekly update. Most of the seven communities are small with low testing, meaning their percentages are high but cases are low. The only community still in the red is Adams, though its positive percentage dropped to 3.1  North Adams, Dalton and Pittsfield are yellow, and Great Barrington, Lee and Williamstown are green. All other communities remain gray.
 
Williamstown was red for three weeks until dropping to green. It has had 13 cases over two weeks and positive percentage of 0.19. North Adams, as of Wednesday, had 82 cases and a positive percentage of 3.83. Pittsfield, which like North Adams has been yellow now for four weeks, had 179 cases and a 14-day average of 3.39 percent. Adams has been in the red for four weeks and has had 26 cases the past two weeks, or 22.6 per 100,000.
 
The county's 14-day average positive rate is 1.83 percent; the state's seven-day average positive rate is 2 percent.
 
The county reported 19 new cases for a total of 6,144; there have been no deaths since April 14 and there are three patients on precautions at BMC/Fairview.
 
The state reported 17 deaths (17,168) and 1,431 new cases (636,476).
 
Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito gave their COVID-19 update from Paterson Field House at BCC, one of the three Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative sites. The governor said 45 percent of the county's population has received at least one dose so far and that he is pushing the federal government to direct doses away from states not using them to Massachusetts, which has a no-vaccination rate of less than 10 percent.
 
 
April 21: The county reported 30 new cases, for a total of 17,151, and no deaths. The state added 1,370 cases (634,045) and 13 deaths (17,151). The seven-day average positive rate is 2.14. Pittsfield its lowest number of cases in some time at five, and 40 percent of residents have received one shot and 26 percent are fully vaccinated.
 
The nation passed 200 million doses with 3 million done every day; more than a third of Americans are now fully vaccinated.
 
April 19: thee county added 14 new cases for a total 6,079 and no deaths. The state added 18 deaths for a total of 17,135 and 1,236 new cases for a total of 632,707. The state's seven-day average positivity rate is 2.04 percent. The national numbers now stand at 31,727,833 total cases and 567,649 deaths.
 
April 18: the state's seven-day average positive rate has dropped below 2 percent for the first time since March 21. The rate on Sunday was 1.97 percent. The state reported 1,265 new cases for a total of 631,471, and seven deaths for a total of 17,117.
 
The county had 17 new cases for a total of 6,065 and no deaths. Hospitalizations remain relatively low at about 700 and intubations at about 100. These numbers have not changed much over the past six weeks. BMC on Friday had 10 patients on precautions. The average age of patients is 59 and age of deaths, 74.
 
The number of residents who have had at least one shot and more than 2 million are fully vaccinated. More than 96,000 doses have been shipped to the Berkshires, or enough for about 76 percent of the population. All those over the age of 16 are eligible for vaccination as of Monday, Patriots Day.
 
April 16: A half-dozen Berkshire towns have a 14-day average positive rate higher than 3 percent. North Adams has jumped to 3.53 percent and Pittsfield 4.22. Both cities and Dalton are in the yellow; Adams, Lee and Williamstown are red; and Great Barrington is green. The county's 14-day positivity average is 2.07 percent.
 
Pittsfield had the most cases over two weeks at 219, North Adams had 80 for a total of 543 to date, or almost 10 percent of total Berkshire cases. Adams had the third highest at 31.
 
The county passed 6,000 cases on Friday with 34 new cases bringing the total to 6,023. There were no deaths but the state reported 13 (17,100) and 1,962  new cases (628,512). The state's seven-day average positive rate is 2.28 percent.
 
About half the states adults have now had at least one shot and 1,957,581 are considered fully vaccinated.
 
The North Adams Public Schools had two cases at Greylock and one at Drury. Anyone in close contact has been informed; this will not affect learning as spring break is next week. Schools will resume on April 26. NAPS did take a snow day Friday because of anticipated snowstorm that ended up only affecting the higher elevations and it was "experiencing a high number of teacher absences due to vaccination side effects." The school year will now end June 14.
 
 
April 15: the county reported 34 new cases and the state 1,884 for totals of 5,989 and 626,550. Pittsfield now has nearly 700 active cases. Deaths remain low relative to the surge in cases with the state reporting five and the county zero. The majority of cases is now in those age 29 and younger. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.30 percent.
 
About a half-million doses of vaccine have been administered in the past week and nearly 2 million people are fully vaccinated. Everyone over the age of 16 will be eligible for a vaccine beginning Monday.
 
 
April 14: the number of cases have not declined since sharply skewing upwards in early March. The county recorded 30 more cases and the state 2,004 for totals of 5,955 and 624,666, respectively. 
 
Deaths have not, thankfully, grown at the same rate: the county added one death, the first in a week, and the state 14.
 
There have been 448 new cases in the first two weeks of April, or 32 per day. In comparison, March had about 681 cases, 22 per day. The bulk of March's cases came in the last two weeks of the month: 134 the first two weeks and 547 the second, or 75 percent. Of the cases in April, 206, or about 40 percent, were in Pittsfield.
 
Hospitalizations have risen by about 100 over the past several weeks and so far have plateaued at about 700. About 100 are still intubated, a figure that has not changed dramatically in a month. The average patient age has dropped to 59. BMC has seven patients on precautions and two pending results.
 
The county has had more deaths in the past four months than all of last year. There have been 144 deaths since Jan. 1 compared to 138 in 2020.
 
Gov. Baker on Wednesday said he did not expect any disruption in vaccinations caused by the FDA's halt to review the J&J vaccine. There have been six incidents, including a death, from blood clots, out of nearly 7 million inoculations.
 
"In the immediate future, we're expecting minimum disruption to scheduled appointments," Baker said. "For example, this week the commonwealth received 11,600 doses of J&J as part of our state allocation. We're receiving 340,000 doses of Moderna and Pfizer as part of that same state allocation. J&J, therefore, accounted for about 3 percent of this week's doses."
 
As of Wednesday, 4,739,598 residents have received at least one shot and 1,875,316 are considered fully vaccinated.
 
 
April 10: the state did not release Saturday's county numbers. The state recorded three deaths total and 2,107 new cases for totals of 17,034 and 618,054, respectively. The seven-day positive average rate is 2.30 percent.
 
 
April 9: The county reported 39 new cases for a total of 5,809 and zero deaths. The state had nine deaths for a total of 17,031 to date and 2,184 new cases for a total of 615,947. The seven-day positive average rate is 2.38 percent.
 
The number of cases nationwide is now more than 31,077,529 and deaths now stand at 560,993.
 
 
April 8: Fourteen-day incidents and positivity rates are up across the county for the period ending April 3 with 10 communities, or a third, above 3 percent. Berkshire County's 14-day average rate is 2.16 percent, still below the state's 2.54 percent and among the five lowest counties, with Hampshire the lowest at 0.66 percent. The county added 498 cases over the 14 days ending April 6.
 
The county reported 35 ew cases (5,770) and no deaths; the state, eight deaths (17,022) and 1,983 cases (613,763). The seven-day positive average rate is 2,29 percent.
 
There is some good news despite the spike in cases — hospitalizations are so far not increasing at the rate they did during the holiday surge. Statewide there are about 735 patients and still fewer than 100 intubated, and the average age has dropped to 61. BMC has seven patients on precautions.
 
The number of infections in those older than 70 has declined dramatically with fewer than 1,000 active cases. There are more than 5,000 cases for those between 50 and 69 but these are also expected to drop as more people get vaccinated. The minimum ages of 60 and 55 went into effect the last two weeks.
 
Some 4,204,152 state residents have had at least one vaccine dose and 1,617,249 are fully inoculated. That's about 24 percent of the population estimate of 6.89 million and 29 percent of those over the age of 18. The state received its largest shipment yet this week for both federal and state disbursements and the Northern Berkshire Emergency Planning Committee reported a record 1,500 doses bein administered at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center in North Adams.
 
 
April 6: the county reported 19 new cases, for a total of 5,704, and no deaths. The state reported 12 deaths for a total of 16,993 to date, and 1,566 new cases for a total of 609,533. The seven-day positive average rate is 2.5 percent.
 
The governor on Tuesday received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine; he became eligible on Monday as the age dropped to 55. More than 4 million residents have received at least one dose and 1.5 million have been fully vaccinated.
 
Infections in older residents have dropped dramatically, with fewer than 1,000 active cases. Ages 0-19 has been the highest for infection, with 6,400 active cases. The average age of hospitalization is 64; there are now more than 700 patients, up about 100 from mid-March, but fewer than 100 intubations. BMC has four patients on precautions.
 
April 5: no data was posted on the state website on Easter Sunday and the numbers posted Monday include Sunday's data.
 
Monday was the first day back to classroom learning for many elementary schools in the county. Pittsfield has nearly 40 confirmed cases of the virus between staff and students, with the largest outbreak at Taconic High with 12 students according to the latest dashboard. Pittsfield now has more than 500 active cases citywide. North Adams identified another case at Greylock Elementary but says there was no in-school exposure. Both school systems say there have been no cases of in-school transmission.
 
The county reported 44 new cases and two deaths for totals of 5,685 and 279, respectively. The number of deaths is one off from the number given on Saturday. 
 
State numbers were 43 deaths, totaling 16,981, and 2,912 new cases for a total of 607,967.  The seven-day average positive test rate is 2.36 percent.
 
 
April 2: the number of new cases in the county was 47 for a total of 5,606, and there was one more death, bringing that total to 277. State numbers were 32 deaths (16,908) and 2,160 new cases (602,792). The seven-day average positive rate was 2.55 percent. Pittsfield has shifted back to yellow.
 
Beginning Monday, residents age 55 and older and those with one certain medical condition will be eligible to receive the vaccine. With this group, more than 1 million additional residents will be eligible for vaccine in the Commonwealth.
 
 
April 1: the state passed the 600,000 mark for total novel coronavirus cases on April Fool's Day. Numbers began climbing around mid-March, about two weeks after the state moved into Step 4 of the reopening.
 
The weekly public health update shows Adams, Pittsfield and Williamstown in the red based on factors including new cases per 100,000. Adams had 28 new cases over 14 days for a total of 276 and a 14-day average positive rate of 3.12 percent. Williamstown had 27 new cases for total of 264 and a rate of 0.36 percent. Its daily incident rate was 26.9.
 
Pittsfield was categorized as yellow in the report, which is about a day behind, but red on its own dashboard as of Thursday. The city had 220 new cases (230 positive tests) in two weeks; on Thursday there was 2,706 total cases and 470 active cases. Its 14-day rate is 3.98 percent.
 
North Adams was in the yellow with 43 new cases and a total of 431 and a rate of 1.92 percent. MCLA had 28 reported cases of COVID-19, prompting the college to revert to remote as of April 5 and to close is residence halls on April 11.
 
The county had 52 new cases for a total of 5,559 and no deaths. In good news, the vaccine collaborative received about 4,000 doses and an estimated 1,000 were being administered in North Adams on Thursday. The county has received a total of 78,025 doses or about 62 percent of the population. At least 36 percent of the population has had at least one dose; 25 percent are fully vaccinated.
 
The state reported 32 deaths for a total of 16,876 and 2,455 new cases for a total of 600,632.
 
 
March 31: The county started the month of March with three cases and ended it with 48 — a striking rise in cases that occurred about halfway through the month.
 
On the other hand, a great deal of progress has been made on the vaccination front with more than a quarter of the Berkshires now fully vaccinated and more than half partially.
 
There was one new death, for a total of 276, and total cases now stand at 5,507. There were 36 deaths statewide for a total of 16,844 and 2,252 new cases for a total of 598,177. The seven-day average positive rate 2.53 percent and the county's 14-day rate has jumped to 1.96 percent, with 442 new cases over two weeks.
 
Both Colegrove Park and Drury High had an individual each who tested positive but these will not require a shift to remote learning. These are the latest of several positives in the school system. MCLA's recent outbreak now stands at 17.
 
April 1: the state passed the 600,000 mark for total novel coronavirus cases on April Fool's Day. Numbers began climbing around mid-March, about two weeks after the state moved into Step 4 of the reopening.
 
The weekly public health update shows Adams, Pittsfield and Williamstown in the red based on factors including new cases per 100,000. Adams had 28 new cases over 14 days for a total of 276 and a 14-day average positive rate of 3.12 percent. Williamstown had 27 new cases for total of 264 and a rate of 0.36 percent. Its daily incident rate was 26.9.
 
Pittsfield was categorized as yellow in the report, which is about a day behind, but red on its own dashboard as of Thursday. The city had 220 new cases (230 positive tests) in two weeks; on Thursday there was 2,706 total cases and 470 active cases. Its 14-day rate is 3.98 percent.
 
North Adams was in the yellow with 43 new cases and a total of 431 and a rate of 1.92 percent. MCLA had 28 reported cases of COVID-19, prompting the college to revert to remote as of April 5 and to close is residence halls on April 11.
 
The county had 52 new cases for a total of 5,559 and no deaths. In good news, the vaccine collaborative received about 4,000 doses and an estimated 1,000 were being administered in North Adams on Thursday. The county has received a total of 78,025 doses or about 62 percent of the population. At least 36 percent of the population has had at least one dose; 25 percent are fully vaccinated.
 
The state reported 32 deaths for a total of 16,876 and 2,455 new cases for a total of 600,632.
 
 
March 31: The county started the month of March with three cases and ended it with 48 — a striking rise in cases that occurred about halfway through the month.
 
On the other hand, a great deal of progress has been made on the vaccination front with more than a quarter of the Berkshires now fully vaccinated and more than half partially.
 
There was one new death, for a total of 276, and total cases now stand at 5,507. There were 36 deaths statewide for a total of 16,844 and 2,252 new cases for a total of 598,177. The seven-day average positive rate 2.53 percent and the county's 14-day rate has jumped to 1.96 percent, with 442 new cases over two weeks.
 
Both Colegrove Park and Drury High had an individual each who tested positive but these will not require a shift to remote learning. These are the latest of several positives in the school system. MCLA's recent outbreak now stands at 17.
 
 
March 30: the number of deaths in the state was 18 for a total of 5,459 but there were zero deaths. The number of state cases was 1,683 bringing the total to 595,925 and 18 deaths bringing that total to 16,808. The seven-day average positive rate was 2.55 percent.
 
 
March 29: the county recorded 20 cases on Monday, a low relative to the spike in infections over the past few weeks. The number of total cases now stand at 5,441 and no deaths were reported. Pittsfield's numbers continue to increase with about 400 active cases and a total of 2,641 cases, about half the county's cases.  BMC has increased to 16 patients on precautions and one pending tests.
 
Statewide, deaths were 15 (16,790) and cases 1,464 (594,242). The seven-day average positive rate is 2.37 percent.
 
March 28: numbers were posted late because of technical difficulties.
 
March 27: county numbers continue to climb with 48 new cases for a total of 5,390, and another death for 272 total. There were 35 deaths statewide for a total of 16,746 and 2,362 new cases for 590,961 total. The seven-day average positive rate is now 2.35 percent after sitting at or below 1 percent for weeks earlier this year.
 
One individual was discovered as positive Friday through the North Adams schools pooled testing program. A limited number of students and staff will be to remote at Colegrove Park Elementary through April 2.
 
March 26:  the county added another 45 new cases, for a total of 5,342, but there were no deaths. The state reported 2,301 cases for a total of 588,599 and 40 deaths bringing the toll to 16,711. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.32 percent.
 
Gov. Baker on Friday said he anticipated a FEMA-backed vaccination site in concert with the federal pharmacy and community health center program.
 
"We applied, I want to say in February, it wasn't that long ago, for one of these designations and the delegation was very helpful in supporting this initiative," he said during Friday's climate bill signing. "We expect that it's going to be operating by the end of the month."
 
He said the site would be integrated into the current registration system. The state has the capacity for two to three times the number of vaccinations currently being administered.
 
"We're talking to all the regional collaboratives and basically saying, do you want to be part of the preregistration system if you do that's great if you don't, that's OK, too," Baker said.
 
March 25: the county is seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases that pushed several communities into the yellow and red zones although positivity rates continue to be fairly low.
 
North Adams jumped into the yellow with 20 new cases over 14 days for a total of 405 and a 14-day average positive rate of 0.98 percent, up from last week. Also in the yellow are Dalton (20 cases, 245 total, 2.46 percent rate), Pittsfield (135 cases, 2.67 percent rate) and Williamstown (19 cases, 245 total, 0.26 percent because of massive testing at Williams). Lee is in the red with 29 cases for total of 291 and an average positive rate of 5.13 percent.
 
Again, some of the smaller towns have outsize percentages because of low testing numbers. Mount Washington is at 33.33 percent for having one positive test out of three. Its total number is seven.
 
Overall, the county's 14-day average positive rate has increased to 1.38 percent. There have been 289 new cases over 14 days.
 
Williams College and MCLA have small outbreaks because of student socializing that has required isolating and remote classes. The prekindergarten and kindergarten at Brayton School in North Adams will complete the week in remote because of two positive individuals. Abbott Memorial School is also remote until Monday because of possible exposure.
 
The county added 43 new cases (5,297) and two deaths, bringing that total to 271. The state had 2,274 new cases for a total of 586,298 and 39 deaths for a total of 16,671. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.22 percent.
 
The number of cases nationwide passed 30 million and deaths now stand at 546,504.
 
 
 
March 24: March may have come in as a lamb but it's on track to go out like a lion.
 
The county recorded 43 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to date to 5,254. Pittsfield has added 182 cases within a two-week period, or about 54 percent of the reported 339 cases. The current number of active cases in the city is 345 with 174 households in quarantine.
 
For the county, the average number of daily cases is now 16 per day, up three over the month of February.
 
There were no deaths recorded but hospitalizations are up with 12 patients at BMC. State hospitalizations are also up slightly after weeks of decline and the average patient age has dropped to 63.
 
The seven-day average positive rate is 2.23 percent, up from 2.2 on Tuesday.
 
March 22: New cases have climbed by more than 100 in Pittsfield since March 14, with 61 just over the weekend. Active cases have jumped to 295, more than double at the beginning of the month.
 
Countywide, the number of new cases was 31 for a total of 5,186 and no deaths. The number of patients at BMC has increased to 11 but no tests are pending. The number of hospitalizations is down 603 statewide.
 
The number of deaths statewide was 27 (16,558) and cases was 1,103 (580,683). The seven-day average positive rate is back at 2 percent.
 
Monday marked the shift to Step 1, Phase IV of the state's reopening. Drury High School is spending this week in remote after two individuals tested positive outside of school.
 
March 21: the county's new case numbers rose again to 36, the highest since 44 were reported on Jan. 29. The total is now 5,155 but there were no deaths.
 
The state reported 33 deaths for 16,531, and 1,678 new cases for a total of 579,580. The seven-day average positive is 1.95 percent.
 
March 20: the county's numbers climbed again to 34 on Saturday for a total of 5,119 and there was another death, for 269 to date.
 
The seven-day average positive rate dropped to 1.99 percent; there were 1,880 new cases in the state for a total of 577,902 and 29 deaths, for a total of 16,498.
 
There have now been 541,907 death and 29,780,301 cases nationwide.
 
March 19: The seven-day average positive test rate has passed 2 percent for the first time in weeks. Public health officials are cautioning people not to be lulled by the vaccine and warming weather into being lax in masking and social distancing.
 
The county reported double digit cases for the seventh day in a row. With 22 new cases on Friday, the total for the last week is 125, compared to 81 for the first two weeks of the month.
 
There were no deaths, leaving the death toll at 268. The total number of cases is now 5,085.
 
The state numbers remain high with 1,887 new cases for a total of 576,022; there were 43 deaths, bringing that total to 16,469.
 
Hospitalizations continue to drop with fewer than 600 patients and an average age of 61.
 
March 18: the county reported 23 new cases on Thursday for a total of 5,063 and one death bringing the toll to 268.
 
The county rate remains low at 0.68 percent over 14 days though three towns are above 3 percent. Again, these tend to be smaller comunities with low test rates.
 
Egremont was at 4.17 percent with four new cases over two weeks for a total of 16; Hinsdale had 5.7 percent with 10 positives for a total of 62; and Lee, which is now yellow, at 4.2 with 22 new cases for a total of 284.
 
North Adams remains in the gray at 0.33 percent and only six cases in two weeks for a total of 382.
 
The state ticked up again to 1.93 percent for the seven-day average positive rate. The number of deaths was 27 (16,426) and new cases 1,875 (574,135).
 
March 17: New cases continue to creep up even as the state prepares on Monday to enter Step One of Phase IV of the reopening plan.
 
There were no deaths in the county but the number of cases reported on Wednesday was 28, double the number the day before. 
 
Pittsfield has shifted back into yellow with a 14-day average positive rate of 1.5 percent, double last week's rate. There are 209 active cases and 87 households in quarantine. Of the 133 cases reported between March 9 and 16, Pittsfield had 49, or 37 percent.
 
BMC/Fairview has four patients and one pending tests.
 
The state reported 1,640 cases (572,278) and 44 deaths (16,399) and seven-day average positive rate that rose again to 1.92 percent.
 
March 16: The number of cases of COVID-19 passed 5,000 on Tuesday, with 14 reported new cases for a total of 5,012. Another death brings that number to 267 since the start of the pandemic. 
 
The numbers have climbed locally over the past week or so with new case reports in the double digits five of the last six days. BMC has four patients but 17 tests pending. Pittsfield now has 200 active cases, after hitting a low of 152, and 82 households on quarantine. 
 
The state's seven-day average positive rate has ticked up to 1.86 percent, from 1.73 yesterday, but there are now just under 100 patients intubated and just over 600 hospitalizations total. The average age of hospitalization is still at 64. The highest number of infections over the past two weeks is still ages up to 19, with more than 5,000. 
 
The state saw 16 more deaths, for a total of 16,355, and 1,018 new cases, for a total of 570,638.
 
March 15: The number of new cases in Berkshire County appears to have ticked up again over the past week or so. The daily numbers have been in the double digits five times since March 1, four of them in the past week. 
 
The county recorded 20 new cases on Monday after having 18 the day before. Overall, there have been 120 new cases in the last two weeks for an average of about eight, but two-thirds of cases have been in the last seven days with an average of 11.6.
 
The county now has a total to date of 4,998 cases and added another death, for a toll of 266.
 
The rise in numbers could be a brief blip but it comes shortly after the state began loosening regulations regarding indoor dining and activities. A Drury High basketball game was canceled Friday after a student reportedly tested positive and Berkshire Museum closed through Thursday after learning someone who tested positive was on site. 
 
The vaccine rollout continues with 89 percent of the total 2.8 million doses received to date (the majority are the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna). About 26 percent of the county's population has received at least one dose and 17 percent are fully vaccinated, the highest rate in the state.
 
The state reported 1,004 new cases for a total of 569,620 and 28 deaths for a total of 16,339. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.73 percent. 
 
March 14: The county reported another death on Sunday, bringing the total to 265, and 18 new cases for a total of 4,978. The state reported 1,508 new cases (568,616) and 30 deaths (16,311) with a seven-day average positive rate of 1.67 percent.
 
March 13: There were no deaths reported in Berkshire County for the second day in a row. There were 14 new cases for a total to date of 4,960. There were 34 deaths statewide for a total of 16,281 and 1,548 new cases for a total of 567,108. 
 
There are 109 patients who are intubated, about a quarter of that a couple months ago, and 643 hospitalizations. The seven-day average of new cases is at just over a 1,000 a day compared to 6,200 on Jan. 8. The seven-day average positive test rate is 1.73 percent.
 
March 12: The county did not report any deaths on Friday, leaving the total to date at 264 and added eight new cases for a total of 4,946.
 
The state's numbers were 29 deaths (16,247) and 1,577 new cases (565,560). The seven-day average positive rate ticked up again, to 1.77 percent.
 
The national numbers are 29,343,530 cases and 532,400 deaths.
 
March 11: The Berkshires again added one more death to its toll of now 264 and another 17 new cases, the highest number since Feb. 24, for a total of 4,938. 
 
In good news, the county has a 14-day positivity rate of 0.53 percent compared to the state's 1.83 percent. The seven-day average positive rate for the state is slightly lower at 1.72. The Berkshires has the lowest rate for the past two weeks followed by Franklin County at 0.62 percent.
 
There are still communities well above that positivity rate because of low number of tests compared to positive outcomes. Florida jumped to 5.4 percent and Hinsdale to 3.4, the only communities more than 3 percent. Florida had two positives for a total of nine and Hinsdale had seven positive tests, bringing its total to 61. Both communities are in the gray. North Adams remains in the green with 13 new cases and a positivity rate of 0.68 percent as is Pittsfield with 38 new cases and a positivity rate of 0.83 percent. 
 
BMC/Fairview is at four patients on precautions and one pending tests and has changed the number of deaths in hospital to 99, done one. The state has fewer than 700 patients with 122 intubated and the average age as hospitalization has dropped to 64. 
 
The state had 42 deaths reported for a total of 16,218 and 1,589 new cases for a total of 563,983.
 
March 10: The county added another death, the first in six days, bringing the toll to 263. New cases were only six, bringing that total to 4,921.
 
The number of new cases has dropped precipitously over the past three months: there were 356 confirmed cases first week of January, for an average of 51 a day. The first week of February saw that drop by nearly two-thirds, to 106 cases and an average of 15 a day. Compare that to the first week of March —a year into the pandemic — with only 23 cases this first week and an average of three a day. 
 
BMC/Fairview is down to five patients on precautions with four pending tests. 
 
State numbers have also considerably dropped off since the beginning of the year though the last weeks have largely plateaued. There were 25,201 confirmed cases in the first week of the year, or 3,600 a day, compared to 7,533 the first week of March, or 1,076 a day. 
 
On Wednesday, there were 1,413 cases and 53 deaths, for totals of 562,394 and 16,176 respectively. The seven-day average positive rate has also been fairly flat, at 1.77, up slightly from yesterday's 1.74.
 
The governor on Wednesday announced that a new website will launch to allow for advance registration for vaccine appointments. The site is expected to be operational by midmorning Friday. Appointment slots will no longer be opened on Thursdays and educators are being prioritized for appointments on four upcoming weekends. State officials, however, noted that the state's access to new doses of vaccine are not expected to improve until the end of the month. So far, there have been more than 2.2 million doses administered and an estimated 750,000 residents are now full vaccinated. 
 
Missouri has now been added to the list of low-risk states that include Hawaii, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and Washington State. 
 
 
March 9: The numbers for Berkshire County on Tuesday were zero deaths and eight new cases for a total of 4,915. The state had 1,006 new cases for a total of 560,981 and 20 deaths for a total of 16,123. The seven-day average positive rate was 1.74 percent. 
 
 
March 8: The Berkshires again recorded no deaths from COVID-19, leaving the number at 262 to date. The number of new cases was six, bringing that total to 4,907. 
 
Pittsfield is now at 2,372 confirmed cases and 74 deaths. There are 162 active cases in the city and 50 households in quarantine. The 14-day average positive rate is 0.80 percent and more than 72,000 tests have been administered, almost double the population. 
 
There were only six patients at Berkshire Medical Center on precautions and three pending tests. The number of hospitalizations statewide was 672, with 123 people intubated. The average age of patients is 69. The state's oldest residents continue to be the smallest group in terms of confirmed cases, at just over 1,400 for those ages 70 years and older. The youngest — ages up to 19 — have the highest number of infections at 5,083. These numbers are over a two-week period. 
 
The number of reported cases on Monday was 892 for a total of 559,975, and 18 deaths, for a total of 16,103. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.67 percent. 
 
Nationally, the number of infections has passed 29 million and deaths are now at 525,619. The nation leads the world in the number of infections and deaths, with more than twice the number of infections as India which as four times the population. There has so far been more than 117 million confirmed infections and 2.6 million deaths. 
 
 
March 7: No deaths were reported in Berkshire County for now the third day in a row but six new cases were for a total of 4,901.
 
Statewide, the number of deaths was 41 for a total of 16,085 and there were 1,281 new cases for a total of 559,083 to date. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.66 percent; Berkshire County's as of March 3 was 0.68 percent, the lowest of county rates.
 
The first Johnson & Johnson vaccines were distributed in Great Barrington on Saturday; state officials have said it could be the end of the month before the next distribution.
 
Also this past week the state added Missouri, Oregon and the state of Washington to low risk states that already include Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Travelers from those areas do not have to quarantine on return or make out a travel form.
 
March 6: Deaths from COVID-19 in Massachusetts passed the 16,000 mark just about a year from the first deaths recorded from the disease in the Bay State. 
 
The number was 16,044 on Saturday with 52 new deaths reported; the number of new cases was 1,495 for a total of 557,802. Again, the numbers of new cases have not been declining but rather have plateaued over the last few weeks. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.79 percent, also fairly steady at between 1.75 and 1.85 for the same period. 
 
The figures were better in Berkshire County with on two new cases reported and no deaths for the second day in a row. The county numbers are now 262 deaths and 4,895 cases.
 
March 5: The county recorded no deaths and 10 new cases, bringing those numbers to 262 and 4,893, respectively. Pittsfield has updated its figures to 2,365 cases total and 74 deaths, or 28 percent of all deaths to date and 48 percent of the county's cases. 
 
There are fewer than 800 people hospitalized across the state and just over 100 intubated. BMC/Fairview now has 11 patients on precautions and five with pending tests. Of the 439 patients hospitalized since March 1, 2020, 107 were readmitted. The numbers of deaths in the hospital remains at 100. 
 
The state numbers were 25 deaths (15,992) and 1,677 new cases (556,307). The number of new cases daily has been flat for the past several weeks. 
 
The Berkshire Vaccination Collaborative will have appointments available beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning; residents are advised to go to maimmunizations.org prior to 9 to ensure you're in the waiting room. 
 
March 4: the county added on another death, bringing the total to 262, and eight more cases, bringing that number to 4,883. The state had 42 more deaths for a total of 15,697 and 1,410 new cases, bringing that total t 554,630. The seven day average positive rate is 1.75 percent. The number of U.S. deaths now stands at 520,080 and cases at 28,820,172.
 
North Adams is in the yellow category with 38 new cases in the last 14 days for a total of 368 and an average positive percent rate of 1.43 percent. This is lower than last week. The daily incidence rate per 100,000 is 21.1, again higher than last week. Pittsfield is in the green with a 1.08 percent 14-day average positive rate and 46 new cases over the past two weeks. These numbers are both lower than last week. Williamstown had 10 new cases in the last two weeks and and an average incidence rate of 19.9. Its positivity rate is 0.13 percent, which is lower than last week. 
 
Two Berkshire communities have 14-day average positive rates above 2 percent, Richmond at 2.7 percent and Lanesborough at 2.4 percent. Richmond had three positive tests in the last two weeks and Lanesborough had seven. 
 
March 3: The county has had no reported deaths for the third consecutive day; five new cases were reported bringing the total to 4,875. 
 
The state has seemed to plateau over the past weeks after hitting a daily high in February of 3,378. The daily average over the past 24 days is 1,476, with few swings in either direction. The numbers have not passed 2,000 since Feb. 7.  Wednesday's count was 1,553 for a total of 553,220. The number of deaths is 66 for a total of 15,925 to date. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.82 percent.  
 
The governor on Wednesday announced that educators would be moved up into the current phase for vaccinations and will be able to register for appointments beginning March 11. They will, however, have to compete with those already in this phase who are 65 and older or have two co-morbidities.
 
There are currently few appointments available as the doses the state is getting are going toward those needing their second shot. The governor said about one million Bay Staters are eligible for vaccinations and that teachers will add another 400,000 to that number. The state will be getting some of the Johnson & Johnson single doses but another delivery won't be until the end of March. 
 
The state is pushing to get students back into classrooms by April. 
 
March 2: The county had its total number of cases reduced by eight and reported no deaths on Tuesday. Eleven cases had been reported Monday but the state on Tuesday took eight away with providing information if it was a miscount or clerical error. The number of cases now stands at 4,870. Pittsfield remains in green and now has 2,346 cases (452 from long-term care centers) total but only 146 active cases, down from more than 800 in mid-December.
 
BMC and Fairview are reporting 10 patients on precautions with two pending tests. The number of deaths within the hospital has remained at 100. Statewide, there are 775 hospitalizations and 116 patients intubated. The average age of patients is still at 69. 
 
The seven-day average positive rate is 1.82 percent and in Pittsfield 1.2 percent.
 
The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative reported a limited number of doses available in Great Barrington and Pittsfield, all of which were gone within an hour. However, the collaborative posted it was expecting a large delivery of vaccines for all three sites by the end of the week. 
 
March 1: As pandemic closes in on a year, the first two months of 2021 have been the among the most deadliest for the Berkshires. About 40 percent of all new cases and 47 percent of deaths occurred in January and February. 
 
Adding in December, the numbers rise even higher with about 66 percent of all cases occurring in those three months and 75 percent of the deaths.
 
February, however, did see a dramatic decrease in cases overall by averaging about 12 per day, well below January's 50 and December's 37. 
 
The county has now had 4,878 cases of COVID-19, with 11 more reported on Monday, and 261 deaths. No deaths were reported Monday, the seventh time this has happened in February. In contrast, this happened only four times during the months of December and January. (Reports are from the day before.)
 
The state reported 1,248 new cases and 26 deaths, bringing those totals to 551,550 and 15,822, respectively. The seven-day average positive rate is 1.77 percent. 
 
Monday was the first day that the state shifted back to Step 2 of Phase 3, allowing occupancy levels to rise to 50 percent and lifting them for restaurants (which have seating restrictions to limit occupancy). Certain indoor entertainment and recreational venues were allowed to proceed along with live entertainment at restaurants and dancing at weddings. 
 
Gov. Baker on Monday also said the state expected to begin receiving the just-approved Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine by next week. New vaccine appointments are few and far between at the moment as people who got their first dose of the two-dose vaccines follow up on appointments. 
 
 
Feb. 28: The county ended the second month of the new year with three deaths and eight new cases, for a total of 261 and 4,867, respectively. 
 
The statewide numbers were 1,428 new cases (550,302) and 52 deaths (15,796). The seven-day average positive rate is 1.73 percent and there are now about 760 hospitalizations, down nearly two-thirds from the holidays, and 124 patients intubated. The average age of hospitalizations is 69. 
 
The state has continued to track "probable" daily cases and deaths, adding them to the regular listing if confirmed. A number of those date from before broad testing and will likely remain "probable." There are currently 30,846 probable COVID-19 cases and 322 probable deaths.
 
The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative is not currently taking appointments for new doses and noted that the state's appointment website is still having issues. The Berkshire website will be give advance notification 6 to 12 hours before new appointments will be accepted. It did hold several clinics last week to administer second doses. 
 
The federal government does expect to ship 3.9 million doses of the new Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine this week. State officials last week said Massachusetts could get 80,000 doses. 
 
Feb. 27: The county recorded nine new cases for a total of 4,859 and one more death bringing that total to 255. The state had 1,516 cases for a total now of 548,874 and 41 deaths for a total of 15,744. The seven-day average positive test rate is 1.85 percent. 
 
The national numbers are now 511,994 deaths and 28,553,692 cases. 
 
As of Friday, North Dakota was removed from the list of low-incident states Massachusetts residents can visit without quarantining on return. Only Hawaii and Puerto Rico remain on the list.
 
Feb. 25: The governor announced restrictions would be loosened for businesses, organizations and restaurants beginning on Monday, March 1, and that the state would enter Step 1 of Phase 4 in the reopening on March 22.
 
The Berkshires recorded no deaths and nine new cases, bringing that total to 4,844. All of Berkshire County is below the 3 percent 14-day positivity rate with the exception of Windsor, at 5.41 percent. Again, this is the case of a small number of positives in a small number of tests: two out of 37 tests with a total case count of 19.
 
North Adams in the yellow with a 1.99 percent rate and 38 new cases as is Williamstown, with only a 0.32 percent positivity rate but 20 new cases for a total of 222. These do not seem to be caused by the return of students, since Williams had two positive cases in seven days and MCLA zero. 
 
Pittsfield is still in green with a 1.28 percent rate and 49 new cases. Adams and Dalton, which had higher numbers two weeks ago, are now both in the gray. Berkshire County had an overall 14-day average of 0.87 percent and 167 new cases over the past two weeks. Out of 21,388 tests, there were 186 positive tests. 
 
The state's positivity rate is 1.85 percent and there were 33 deaths for a total of 15,657 and 1,928 new cases for a total fo 545,624. 
 
 
Feb. 24: There were three deaths in the county, bringing the total to 254, and 16 new cases for a total of 4,835. The state added 1,788 new cases (543,696) and recorded 60 deaths (15,624). The seven-day average positive rate remains at 1.89 percent. 
 
The governor reported on Wednesday that the appointment website that crashed last week should be working for the 50,000 new first dose appointments that will open on Thursday morning. The Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine was approved for emergency use but it is not clear when that will reach Massachusetts. 
 
The collaborative of vaccination sites in Berkshire County were named among the 11 considered high-efficiency sites. This is part of the administration's efforts to streamline vaccinations through large accessible venues and should mean more access to vaccines. 
 
 
Feb. 23: there were no deaths recorded for the fifth time this month and only five new cases, bringing that total to 4,819. There are currently eight patients at BMC/Fairview on precautions and 31 with pending tests. 
 
The number of active cases in Pittsfield has been below 300 for several days after hitting a peak of 869 on Dec. 12. The city remains in the green category based on number of cases and positivity rate, which was 1 percent on Sunday.  
 
Statewide, there were 30 deaths and 1,114 new cases. The governor on Tuesday said there has been a 65 percent drop in the daily hospital census for COVID-19 patients. More than 30,000 new doses of the vaccine were administered on Monday and 85.4 percent of total doses shipped to the state have been administered. Some 1.4 million have received their first dose. However, Baker's vaccination program has come under criticism for failing to get enough doses out.
 
The Berkshires' three regional vaccination centers had enough for second doses this week and only a small number of first doses. These first doses were not known to be available until noon on Tuesday for a Wednesday clinic.
 
"When you get 450,000 requests for vaccines, new first dose vaccines, each week and you have 130,000 first dose vaccines that are available, that creates anxiety, and when you have a million people who are eligible to get a vaccine, and you only get 130,000 first doses a week, that creates an anxiety," Baker said. "And what we've tried to say to people about some of this is to be patient. Everybody's going to get vaccinated, but everybody can't get vaccinated at once because we don't have enough supply."
 
 
Feb. 22: The number of deaths in the United States caused by COVID-19 passed the half-million mark, just days short of the first reported deaths of the novel coronavirus in U.S. last year on Feb. 26. (Three people were later found to have died of the virus in early February.)
 
Among those 500,159 deaths reported on Monday is one from Berkshire County, bringing the local toll to 251 since the first county death on March 22.  
 
The number of new cases was eight, bringing the total to 4,814 to date. The number of patients at BMC/Fairview has dropped seven, a 10th of what it had been over the holidays. However, there are 11 patients pending tests, there have been 99 readmissions and the number of deaths at the hospital has now reached 100. Some 425 county residents have been hospitalized since March 1 of last year. 
 
The state had 26 deaths for a total of 15,534 and 1,150 new cases, bringing that total to 540,794. Hospitalizations are not at 888 with 140 patients intubated. The average age of those hospitalized remains at 70 while the majority of those infected is age 19 and younger (6,468).
 
The seven-day average positive test rate remains under 2 percent at 1.90 percent. 
 
In less happy news, a dearth of COVID-19 vaccines has caused the cancellation of Berkshire clinics for Tuesday. Worries of a shortage for Saturday disappeared with the report that the 135,000 doses would be available but on Monday, Berkshire clinics began contacting those who had appointments for first doses on Tuesday to say they would be rescheduled. Those getting second doses will receive them. 
 
In a post on the GetVaccinatedBerkshires.org website, the notice said the Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative "has not received any new information from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts about the availability of first-dose vaccines (including doses for companions) for scheduling additional clinics."
 
The site was expected to be updated at noon on Tuesday. 
 
Feb. 21: There have now been 250 deaths from COVID-19 in the county with the report of two more deaths on Sunday. New cases reported were 12 for a total of 4,806, or about 4 percent of the Berkshire's population. 
 
The average number of cases reported daily has dropped dramatically this month. During January, the county averaged 51 cases a day compared to 15 so far in February. Deaths dropped from 2.5 to 1.6 per day.
 
There were 46 deaths reported statewide, for 15,508 to date, and 1,316 new cases, for a total of 539,644. The seven-day average positive rate dropped below 2 percent, at 1.86 percent, for the first time since the beginning of November. 
 
The statewide incident rate has dropped in half since Jan. 8 when it was 61.1 per 100,000 people and the seven-day positive average test rate was 7.42 percent. The 14-day incident rate is now 30 per 100,000 residents. Hospitalizations dropped below 1,000 a couple days ago and have remained there with 153 patients intubated.
 
Feb. 20: There were zero deaths in the county reported and 10 new cases for a total of 4,794. There 1,822 new cases statewide for a total of 538,328 and 53 deaths, bringing the toll to 15,462. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.02 percent. 
 
 
Feb. 19: The county had two more deaths, bringing the total to 248, and 15 cases, bringing that total 4,784. The state recorded 1,679 new cases (536,506) and 36 deaths (15,409) and a seven-day average positive rate of 2.10 percent. Nationally, the total numbers were 495,129 deaths and 27,953,823 cases.
 
Feb. 18: Berkshire County is officially out of the red zone, with no community higher than yellow for the preceding two weeks. The two-week positivity rate is 1.14 percent as of Feb. 16; the seven-day average state positivity rate on Thursday was 2.13 percent.
 
The county's three most populous communities — Adams, North Adams and Pittsfield — are in the yellow category and Dalton and Williamstown are in the green. 
 
Adams had been in the red zone last week with a 3.84 percent positivity rate over the previous two weeks; it is now at 1.96 percent and had 16 new cases for a total of 232. Pittsfield has been in the yellow for a week now and has a 1.47 percent rate and 62 new cases. North Adams was in the gray but jumped back to yellow with 30 new cases for a total of 350, though its positivity rate is 1.37 percent. 
 
Dalton had 15 new cases for a total of 212 and a 1.81 positivity rate; Williamstown is green with with 14 new cases for a total of 218 but has a very low positivity rate of 0.42 percent.
 
Hancock is again an outlier at 10 percent but this relates to the one positive case out of 10 tests; it has a total of 16 cases. Otis, Washington and Windsor are all more than 3 percent but their new case numbers are very low at four, two and two, respectively. Both Washington and Windsor have fewer than 20 cases total while Otis is at 47. 
 
New cases in the county were seven, for a total of 4,769, and deaths were two, bringing that toll to 246. The state had 61 new deaths (534,827) and 1,803 new cases (534,827). 
 
Households continue to be the main transmission points with 11,645 clusters and 29,691 confirmed cases between Jan. 17 and Feb. 13; child care is far second with 93 cluster and 277 confirmed cases, and third are colleges with 39 clusters and 256 cases. Prek-12 schools are low with 18 clusters and 72 cases, although many schools may have been in remote learning during this period. 
 
The state's new vaccination appointment website crashed Thursday morning as 70,000 slots were opened for the estimated 1 million individuals age 65 and older or with two co-morbidities. The site was working later in the day but appointments at the three Berkshire clinics were full as they opened to the new group on Wednesday to ensure Thursday clinics would be filled. 
 
Berkshire County residents can sign up through the  www.getvaccinatedberkshires.org site.
 
Feb. 17: Pittsfield's dropped into the green level after months of high incidences of COVID-19 cases. The city recorded 2,285 total cases on Tuesday, up only seven cases from the day before, and 363 active cases, down from 868 in mid-December. Its 14-day positive average rate is 1.2 percent, down from 6.3 in January. The county's 14-day average is 1.14 percent, the lowest in the state.
 
Overall, the county added one new death and 16 new cases, for totals, respectively of 244 and 4,762 to date. 
 
The state numbers were 55 more deaths, for a total of 15,312, and 1,322 new cases, for a total of 533,024. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.20 percent. 
 
Vaccination eligibility has been expanded as of Thursday to include ages 65 and older and those with at least two co-morbidities. The Berkshire vaccination sites were allowing residents to sign up on Wednesday by using the "75 and older" function. The new categories should show up on all vaccination sites on Thursday morning. An estimated 1 million people will be eligible. 
 
Feb. 16: The county added another death but only eight new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to date to 4,746. The count has been less than 10 three of the last four days. 
 
The number of patients hospitalized in the county has dropped to 15 with one person pending results. BMC has has 15 positive patients in the past seven days and one at Fairview. There have been 98 deaths in the hospital and 95 readmission since last March. 
 
Overall, hospitalizations are dropping across the state with number now about 1,000 although nearly 200 people are still intubated. That's down from a high on Jan. 4 of 2,428 patients and on April 21 of 3,965. The average age has increased to 72; it had been as low as 68 after the holidays.
 
The highest number of infections continues to be in 0-19 age bracket with 8,223 over the past two weeks; the age brackets covering 70 to 80 years and older is about 3,300 total. 
 
The number of new cases statewide is 967 for a total of 531,702 and deaths 49, for a total of 15,257. The seven-day average positive test rate has ticked up slightly to 2.22 percent. 
 
More than 3 million vaccine doses have been shipped to the state in the first two days of this week with about 75 percent having been administered.
 
Feb. 15: There were zero deaths from COVID-19 recorded for the county on Monday and only eight new cases. The totals are now 242 and 4,738, respectively.
 
The recorded 32 deaths, for a total of 15,208 to date, and 1,480 new cases, for a total of 530,735. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.19 percent.
 
The average number of daily cases reported has dropped by half in February. December saw an average of 4,474 and January 4,552; February is as 2,021 cases over the past 15 days. Deaths have not dropped as dramatically, with an daily average of 69 in January and 61 so far in February.
 
Nationally, the country was adding on about 202,206 cases a day, or more than 6 million in January, and about 3,119 deaths daily. So far in February, the rate of new cases appears to be dropping with 1.5 million in the past two weeks or about 100,513 a day. Deaths are not falling as fast with about 2,994 a day for a total of 44,911 so far. Those suffering from the disease can be hospitalized for weeks or months before improving or declining. 
 
Feb. 14: Two deaths were recorded on Sunday for a total of 242 and 19 new cases, for a total of 4,730. The numbers statewide were 60 deaths, for a total of 15,716, and 1,820 cases, for a total of 529,255. The seven-day average positive test rate is down to 2.17 percent and the 14-day rate for Berkshire County is 1.75 percent.
 
Nationally the number of deaths is now 485,300 and cases, 27,638,448.
 
Feb. 13: The county recorded one death and three new cases for totals of 240 and 4,711, respectively. 
 
This is the lowest daily record since Halloween, when only one case was reported. The greatest number was 100 on Dec. 5 that was largely in Pittsfield. 
 
The average daily rate for February so far is 16 cases daily compared to 51 in January.
 
Statewide the seven-day positive test rate had dropped to 2.40 percent and the number of cases reported Saturday was 1,949 for a total of 527,435. The number of deaths reported was 65, bringing the toll to 15,116.
 
Feb. 12: The county registered no deaths for the second day in a row and added 19 new cases for a total of 4,708. Pittsfield has had about half the total cases with 2,267 confirmed as of Thursday and 85 deaths, or about 36 percent of the county. It is not clear, however, if the death toll in Pittsfield is current as the last change in numbers was at the beginning of the month when it jumped to 85 after holding at 49 for most of January. 
 
Statewide the count is 525,486 cases with 2,228 being reported on Friday, and the death toll is now 15,501, with 87 new deaths recorded. 
 
The seven-day average positive test rate is 2.55 percent, another low since October, and the number of active cases is about 48,000. The number of active cases in Pittsfield is 579, down from a high of 869 on Dec. 12. 
 
Hospitalizations continue to decline with about 1,200 patients and less than 200 on ventilators. The patient count at BMC/Fairview is 19 on precautions with five pending tests. To date, the hospital has had 96 deaths and 90 readmissions. 
 
The state has updated its low-risk travel ratings to include North Dakota. That state, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are the only areas Massachusetts residents can visit without quarantining for 14 days. (People who regularly commute from surrounding states also do not have to quarantine.)
 
Gov. Baker has previously said opening up travel to neighboring states will occur based on when those states also feel they are ready. 
 
Feb. 11: Berkshire County has a 1.75 percent positivity rate averaged over the last 14 days, well below the statewide rate of 2.65 percent. The county's cities and towns have a 3 percent positivity rate or less with a handful of exceptions. Adams is at 3.84 percent averaged over the prior two weeks and Otis 3.3, but three of the smaller towns have outsized percentages of 4.55 for Washington, 9.1 for Peru, and a whopping 20 percent for Hancock. 
 
These higher numbers for small towns are more indicative of the number of tests than actual cases, with Hancock having 10 tests and only two confirmed cases in the last 14 days. Peru and Washington also had two confirmed cases each, but more testing done. Washington has had a total of six cases since March, Peru 11 and Hancock 16. 
 
North Adams is now down to 1.21 percent, with 29 new cases in the past two weeks and is in the gray level. Pittsfield is at 2.11 percent with 102 new cases in 14 days and remains in the yellow level. Williamstown is the next level dow in green but with only 12 new cases and a positivity rate of 0.85 percent. 
 
Adams is the only community in the red with 34 new cases in the last two weeks out of 886 tests. It's 3.84 percent positivity rate is higher than last's week average of 3.65 percent. 
 
Overall, the county had 14 new cases, for a total of 4,689, and no deaths for the first time since Jan. 18. The statewide numbers are 2,213 new cases (523,258) and 61 deaths (14,694). Nationally the numbers are 27,366,838 cases total and 474,554 deaths total. Feb. 18: Berkshire County is officially out of the red zone, with no community higher than yellow for the preceding two weeks. The two-week positivity rate is 1.14 percent as of Feb. 16; the seven-day average state positivity rate on Thursday was 2.13 percent.
 
The county's three most populous communities — Adams, North Adams and Pittsfield — are in the yellow category and Dalton and Williamstown are in the green. 
 
Adams had been in the red zone last week with a 3.84 percent positivity rate over the previous two weeks; it is now at 1.96 percent and had 16 new cases for a total of 232. Pittsfield has been in the yellow for a week now and has a 1.47 percent rate and 62 new cases. North Adams was in the gray but jumped back to yellow with 30 new cases for a total of 350, though its positivity rate is 1.37 percent. 
 
Dalton had 15 new cases for a total of 212 and a 1.81 positivity rate; Williamstown is green with with 14 new cases for a total of 218 but has a very low positivity rate of 0.42 percent.
 
Hancock is again an outlier at 10 percent but this relates to the one positive case out of 10 tests; it has a total of 16 cases. Otis, Washington and Windsor are all more than 3 percent but their new case numbers are very low at four, two and two, respectively. Both Washington and Windsor have fewer than 20 cases total while Otis is at 47. 
 
New cases in the county were seven, for a total of 4,769, and deaths were two, bringing that toll to 246. The state had 61 new deaths (534,827) and 1,803 new cases (534,827). 
 
Households continue to be the main transmission points with 11,645 clusters and 29,691 confirmed cases between Jan. 17 and Feb. 13; child care is far second with 93 cluster and 277 confirmed cases, and third are colleges with 39 clusters and 256 cases. Prek-12 schools are low with 18 clusters and 72 cases, although many schools may have been in remote learning during this period. 
 
The state's new vaccination appointment website crashed Thursday morning as 70,000 slots were opened for the estimated 1 million individuals age 65 and older or with two co-morbidities. The site was working later in the day but appointments at the three Berkshire clinics were full as they opened to the new group on Wednesday to ensure Thursday clinics would be filled. 
 
Berkshire County residents can sign up through the  www.getvaccinatedberkshires.org site.
 
Feb. 17: Pittsfield's dropped into the green level after months of high incidences of COVID-19 cases. The city recorded 2,285 total cases on Tuesday, up only seven cases from the day before, and 363 active cases, down from 868 in mid-December. Its 14-day positive average rate is 1.2 percent, down from 6.3 in January. The county's 14-day average is 1.14 percent, the lowest in the state.
 
Overall, the county added one new death and 16 new cases, for totals, respectively of 244 and 4,762 to date. 
 
The state numbers were 55 more deaths, for a total of 15,312, and 1,322 new cases, for a total of 533,024. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.20 percent. 
 
Vaccination eligibility has been expanded as of Thursday to include ages 65 and older and those with at least two co-morbidities. The Berkshire vaccination sites were allowing residents to sign up on Wednesday by using the "75 and older" function. The new categories should show up on all vaccination sites on Thursday morning. An estimated 1 million people will be eligible. 
 
Feb. 16: The county added another death but only eight new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to date to 4,746. The count has been less than 10 three of the last four days. 
 
The number of patients hospitalized in the county has dropped to 15 with one person pending results. BMC has has 15 positive patients in the past seven days and one at Fairview. There have been 98 deaths in the hospital and 95 readmission since last March. 
 
Overall, hospitalizations are dropping across the state with number now about 1,000 although nearly 200 people are still intubated. That's down from a high on Jan. 4 of 2,428 patients and on April 21 of 3,965. The average age has increased to 72; it had been as low as 68 after the holidays.
 
The highest number of infections continues to be in 0-19 age bracket with 8,223 over the past two weeks; the age brackets covering 70 to 80 years and older is about 3,300 total. 
 
The number of new cases statewide is 967 for a total of 531,702 and deaths 49, for a total of 15,257. The seven-day average positive test rate has ticked up slightly to 2.22 percent. 
 
More than 3 million vaccine doses have been shipped to the state in the first two days of this week with about 75 percent having been administered.
 
Feb. 15: There were zero deaths from COVID-19 recorded for the county on Monday and only eight new cases. The totals are now 242 and 4,738, respectively.
 
The recorded 32 deaths, for a total of 15,208 to date, and 1,480 new cases, for a total of 530,735. The seven-day average positive rate is 2.19 percent.
 
The average number of daily cases reported has dropped by half in February. December saw an average of 4,474 and January 4,552; February is as 2,021 cases over the past 15 days. Deaths have not dropped as dramatically, with an daily average of 69 in January and 61 so far in February.
 
Nationally, the country was adding on about 202,206 cases a day, or more than 6 million in January, and about 3,119 deaths daily. So far in February, the rate of new cases appears to be dropping with 1.5 million in the past two weeks or about 100,513 a day. Deaths are not falling as fast with about 2,994 a day for a total of 44,911 so far. Those suffering from the disease can be hospitalized for weeks or months before improving or declining. 
 
Feb. 14: Two deaths were recorded on Sunday for a total of 242 and 19 new cases, for a total of 4,730. The numbers statewide were 60 deaths, for a total of 15,716, and 1,820 cases, for a total of 529,255. The seven-day average positive test rate is down to 2.17 percent and the 14-day rate for Berkshire County is 1.75 percent.
 
Nationally the number of deaths is now 485,300 and cases, 27,638,448.
 
Feb. 13: The county recorded one death and three new cases for totals of 240 and 4,711, respectively. 
 
This is the lowest daily record since Halloween, when only one case was reported. The greatest number was 100 on Dec. 5 that was largely in Pittsfield. 
 
The average daily rate for February so far is 16 cases daily compared to 51 in January.
 
Statewide the seven-day positive test rate had dropped to 2.40 percent and the number of cases reported Saturday was 1,949 for a total of 527,435. The number of deaths reported was 65, bringing the toll to 15,116.
 
Feb. 12: The county registered no deaths for the second day in a row and added 19 new cases for a total of 4,708. Pittsfield has had about half the total cases with 2,267 confirmed as of Thursday and 85 deaths, or about 36 percent of the county. It is not clear, however, if the death toll in Pittsfield is current as the last change in numbers was at the beginning of the month when it jumped to 85 after holding at 49 for most of January. 
 
Statewide the count is 525,486 cases with 2,228 being reported on Friday, and the death toll is now 15,501, with 87 new deaths recorded. 
 
The seven-day average positive test rate is 2.55 percent, another low since October, and the number of active cases is about 48,000. The number of active cases in Pittsfield is 579, down from a high of 869 on Dec. 12. 
 
Hospitalizations continue to decline with about 1,200 patients and less than 200 on ventilators. The patient count at BMC/Fairview is 19 on precautions with five pending tests. To date, the hospital has had 96 deaths and 90 readmissions. 
 
The state has updated its low-risk travel ratings to include North Dakota. That state, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are the only areas Massachusetts residents can visit without quarantining for 14 days. (People who regularly commute from surrounding states also do not have to quarantine.)
 
Gov. Baker has previously said opening up travel to neighboring states will occur based on when those states also feel they are ready. 
 
Feb. 11: Berkshire County has a 1.75 percent positivity rate averaged over the last 14 days, well below the statewide rate of 2.65 percent. The county's cities and towns have a 3 percent positivity rate or less with a handful of exceptions. Adams is at 3.84 percent averaged over the prior two weeks and Otis 3.3, but three of the smaller towns have outsized percentages of 4.55 for Washington, 9.1 for Peru, and a whopping 20 percent for Hancock. 
 
These higher numbers for small towns are more indicative of the number of tests than actual cases, with Hancock having 10 tests and only two confirmed cases in the last 14 days. Peru and Washington also had two confirmed cases each, but more testing done. Washington has had a total of six cases since March, Peru 11 and Hancock 16. 
 
North Adams is now down to 1.21 percent, with 29 new cases in the past two weeks and is in the gray level. Pittsfield is at 2.11 percent with 102 new cases in 14 days and remains in the yellow level. Williamstown is the next level dow in green but with only 12 new cases and a positivity rate of 0.85 percent. 
 
Adams is the only community in the red with 34 new cases in the last two weeks out of 886 tests. It's 3.84 percent positivity rate is higher than last's week average of 3.65 percent. 
 
Overall, the county had 14 new cases, for a total of 4,689, and no deaths for the first time since Jan. 18. The statewide numbers are 2,213 new cases (523,258) and 61 deaths (14,694). Nationally the numbers are 27,366,838 cases total and 474,554 deaths total. 
 
Feb. 10: The state's seven-day average positive rate has now declined to 2.82 percent, the third day its been under 3 percent, the county saw 15 new cases on Wednesday and hospitalizations at BMC are at 18. Taken together, these numbers are positive trend after several months of surging cases. 
 
There were two more deaths in the Berkshires, bringing the toll to date to 239, and the total number of cases is now 4,675. Statewide, there were 82 deaths (14,903) and 1,920 cases (521,045). 
 
The governor on Wednesday announced that those age 75 and older can bring a caregiver or companion, who will also be able to be vaccinated. This starts Thursday and is only for mass vaccination sites, none of which are in the Berkshires. 
 
Feb. 9: The numbers stayed fairly flat from Monday with 10 new cases and three new deaths in the county, for totals of 4,660 and 237, respectively. 
 
The data for Tuesday was also similar for the state with 1,319 new cases for a total of 519,125 and 68 new deaths for a total of 14,821. The seven-day average positive rate was the same at 2.96 percent and the hospitalizations haven't changed. 
 
Eleven months into the pandemic, 467,673 Americans have died and 27,179,740 have been infected. Globally, the toll from the disease is 2,337,714 and 106,855,561 have been confirmed as infected. 
 
Feb. 8: Cases are declining in the county but not deaths. There were four deaths reported Monday bringing the toll on the county to 234. Of those, 95 have occurred in the hospital and 41 percent have occurred in just the first five weeks of 2021. 
 
The number of new cases was 11, bringing that total to 4,650. There have been 1,743 cases since Jan. 1, or 37 percent of all cases to date. The drop in the number of cases since Jan. 1 has been dramatic, with 431 confirmed the first week of the new year to 149 for the first week of February. January had a daily average of 51 cases and, so far, February is at about 19.
 
The state added 1,276 new cases for a total of 517,806.  The state was adding about 4,474 new cases a day through January but about 2,458 per day during the first week of February. The seven-day average positive test rate is at 2.96 percent, the second day in a row it's been below 3 percent. 
 
Hospitalizations are now around 1,400 (with 23 at BMC/Fairview) and intubations at 188, with 329 in ICUs. On Jan. 5, there were more than 2,400 people hospitalized. 
 
Restaurants, certain personal services, retail, museum and certain other activities were allowed to expand to 40 percent occupancy beginning Monday. 
 
The governor on Monday said about 200,000 of the state's 430,000 residents age 75 and older had been vaccinated so far. 
 
"That's a big number but I think we'll probably want to leave it open for a little while longer to see if some more 75 year old folks, sign up," he said.
 
Feb. 7: One death was recorded in the county bringing the total to 230 to date and 20 new cases, bringing that total to 4,369. The state had 3,004 new cases for a total of 516,530, and 76 deaths, bringing that toll to 14,698. The seven-day average positive test rate has dropped to 2.96 percent, less than half it was a month ago and the first time below 3 percent in nearly three months.  
 
Feb. 6: There were three deaths in the county for a total of 229 and 59 statewide for a total of 14,622. The number of cases was 11 for Berkshire County for a total of 4,619 and 3,378 cases statewide for a total of 513,526. The seven-day average positive test rate statewide is 3.11 percent. The number of deaths nationwide is now 461,892 and the number of cases, 26,902,454.
 
Feb. 5: The county recorded two more deaths, bringing the total to 226, and 24 new cases, for a total of 4,608. The state's numbers also continue to decline with 2,982 new cases, for a total of 510,148, and 74 deaths, for a total of 14,563. The seven-day average positive rate is 3.16 percent. 
 
State hospitalizations are just over 1,500 and intubations have dropped below 200. BMC is reporting 23 patients with two pending tests. The number of deaths at the hospital is now 93.  The number of cases nationwide stands at 26,779,193 and deaths at 458,791.
 
The governor on Friday announced that residents having difficulty signing up online for vaccine appointments will be able to call 211 and choosing the option "For help with scheduling a vaccine appointment." The call center will be available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will have more than 500 staffers on the line. 
 
 
 
Feb. 4: The county added two more deaths and 15 new cases on Thursday, for totals of 224 and 4,538 respectively. The region has seen a significant dip in new cases over the past two weeks with Pittsfield's 14-day positivity rate dropping to 3.32 percent and North Adams' down to 1.68. Overall, the county's positivity rate is now 2.72 percent, below the state's 3.29 percent. 
 
Over the past two weeks, Pittsfield has added 181 new cases and Great Barrington 79; North Adams was the third highest with 39. Many smaller communities have reported no new cases in two weeks, including Clarksburg, Florida, Hancock, Lanesborough, New Ashford and Savoy. 
 
The smaller communities sometimes have outsized average positive rates, however, with Mount Washington having a rate of 33.33 percent based on having three tests of which one was positive. The town has had only six cases total since March. 
 
Statewide, there were 74 deaths (14,489) and 2,602 new cases (507,166). Hospitalizations are slowly declining with 1,554 patients, of which 208 are intubated. About 335 are in intensive care. The average age for patients has dropped to 68 after being about 70-72 for some weeks. The number of patients on precautions at BMC/Fairview is now 26 with no pending tests. There have been 92 deaths in the hospital and 85 readmissions. 
 
Gov. Baker on Thursday announced that occupancy restrictions for retail, restaurant, personal services and some types of institutions would be raised from 25 percent to 40 percent effective Monday. All other restrictions remain in place for the moment.  
 
There have been 149,030 doses of vaccine administered in the past week and a total of 681,472 reported as of Feb. 2. The highest number was 30,283 on Jan. 28.  A total of 896,300 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have so far been shipped to Massachusetts. 
 
Feb. 3: Officials are already warning that it's too soon to have gatherings for this weekend's football game. Gov. Baker and Pittsfield's health Chairman Dr. Alan Kulberg say residents should not take chances because of the decline in cases and that indoor parties are risky. 
 
This is an event that many look forward to celebrating, however, we have to remember the tremendous impact of the post-holiday spike. With any spike, there's the real danger of a surge that can last a month or more," Kulberg said Wednesday. "Thankfully, we're currently at a point where our public health data looks promising and we really want to stay on this path."
 
The governor, at a briefing held at Fenway Park, defended the rollout of the vaccine that prioritizes certain segments of the population. To date, he said more than 13.7 million COVID-19 tests have been giving and that there have been 654,000 vaccinations as of Tuesday. Another 135,000 appointments are expected for next week. New appointments are available each Thursday on mass.gov/covidvaccine and the state is working to set up a call center. You can find locations and information on vaccination clinics on the map at right. 
 
The BRTA announced it was complying with the recent federal law requiring masks on public transportation. Only those wearing masks will be boarded and anyone not complying will have to disembark. Masks may be removed for brief periods for communication with the hearing impaired; ages 2 and younger and those whose medical condition does not allow them to wear one safely are exempt. Masks will be available to those without from the bus operator or bus station.
 
The county recorded two more deaths on Wednesday and 18 new cases, bringing the totals to 222 and 4,569, respectively. Pittsfield accounts for 49 percent of all cases and 38 percent of all deaths. The city's dashboard had been holding deaths at 49 since Jan. 5 and posted 85 on Wednesday. This does not appear to be a spike but rather that the numbers were not being updated in a timely manner. 
 
Statewide the numbers continue to be good, with the seven-day average positive rate at 3.30 percent. The rate at the start of the new year was 8.67 percent. It has now been under 4 percent for five consecutive days. 
 
The number of deaths statewide was 53 (14,415) and new cases 2,168 (504,564). Nationally, the number of deaths is now 449,663 and the number of cases 26,522,785.
 
 
Feb. 2: The county recorded three more deaths for a total of 220 to date. There were 18 new cases, bringing that total to 4,551. Over the last week, the daily average of new cases has dropped to 27. 
 
The number of state cases was 1,963 for a total of 502,378, and 45 deaths, for a total of 14,632. The seven-day average positive rate is now 3.44 percent. 
 
 
Feb. 1: The county is emerging from the most difficult and deadly months to date  of the pandemic. 
 
Nearly two-thirds of all COVID-19 cases reported occurred during the months of December and January. Adding in November, the number rises to 81 percent.
 
Those three months also saw 164 of the county's 217 deaths to date, or 76 percent. 
 
November had an average of 27 reported daily cases, December an average of 41 and January an average of 51. There were 1,594 positive cases in January, or 35 percent of all reported cases since March. There were 78 deaths reported in the first month of 2021, or 36 percent of all deaths since March. 
 
The explosion in positive cases and deaths beginning in November and following a number of parties and gatherings around Halloween and through Christmas. 
 
On Monday, there were 32 new cases reported, bringing the total to 4,533, and another death, with toll now at 217. 
 
The number of total infections statewide has now passed a half-million, with 2,270 new cases for a total of 500, 415; the number of deaths stands at 14,317 with 30 more reported Monday. 
 
The seven-day average positive test rate is 3.53 percent, the third day it's been below 4 percent.
 
The number of hospitalizations has also declined, with less than 1,700 across the state although the number of intubations remains above 200. BMC's numbers are down to 25 on precautions with one patient awaiting results. There have been 92 deaths at the hospital. 
 
The Phase 2 immunizations begin this week although some appointments may have to be rescheduled because of the nor'easter that moved into the region on Monday.
 
Jan. 31: Numbers of cases continue to decline both locally and statewide. Berkshire County recorded 15 new cases for a total of 4,501 and one death, bringing the toll to 216. 
 
The state had 46 more deaths, for a total of 14,287, and 2,546 cases, for a total of 498,145. The seven-day average positive test rate was below 4 percent at 3.61 percent, for the second day in a row. 
 
Nationwide, the death toll is now 441,200 and the total number of cases, 26,174,956.
 
Jan. 30: The Berkshires saw a jump in deaths with nine over the past two days — six reported Friday and three on Saturday — for a total of 215. 
 
The number of cases was 77 — 44 on Friday and 33 on Saturday — for a total of 4,486 to date. 
 
The number of cases statewide is now 495,599, with 3,957 reported on Saturday, and the death toll is 14,241, with 87 reported Saturday and 129 on Friday.
 
The seven-day average positive test rate dropped below 4 percent, coming in at 3.89 percent.
 
Jan. 28: The number of new cases continues to decline with the Berkshires recording 15 new cases for a total of 4,409, and two more deaths for a total of 206.
 
Hospitalizations statewide have dropped although the numbers in intensive cares and intubations have remained fairly stagnant at 442 and 255, respectively. Berkshire Medical Center is now seeing a decline with 27 patients on precautions and two pending tests. It has had 20 positive patients in the last seven days and 52 in the last 14. 
 
There have now been 88 deaths in the hospital since March. 
 
Statewide, the number of deaths was 43, for a total of 14,506, and 4,222 new cases, bringing the number to date to 488,861.
 
The weekly public health report has the 14-day average positive test rate for Pittsfield at 4.91 percent and North Adams at 2.04 percent, down from 3.03 percent last week. 
 
The North Adams schools voted to switch to remote for at least the first two weeks of the new year to avoid a predicted spike in new cases because of the holidays. The city and the 15 other communities that feed staff or students to the schools went above the 3 percent benchmark agreed to with the teachers union, therefore extending remote learning to the end of January. 
 
The North Adams schools are expected to return the AM/PM hybrid format four days a week beginning Monday but a final decision will not be made until Friday. 
 
Pittsfield on Wednesday voted to begin transitioning to hybrid learning on Monday but the vast majority of students are not expected to see the inside of a classroom until the last week in February. 
 
Jan. 27: The online signups sites for Phase 2 vaccinations were overwhelmed on Wednesday, the first day they went live. Gov. Charlie Baker urged patience, saying the biggest challenge is that demand will likely outstrip supply. The state is dependent on supplies from the federal government, which the Biden administration has pledged to ramp up. 
 
The priority for Phase 2, which begins Monday will be on those 75 and older. Berkshire Health Systems estimates there are 18,000 county residents in that age range and that it may take six to eight weeks to vaccinate all of them. Those who are in groups targeted in the first phase but who did not get vaccinated or need a second dose, are also a priority. 
 
The county recorded four more deaths, bringing the total to 204. There were 31 new cases, continuing the downward trend over the past week or so, with a total of 4,394 to date.
 
The state recorded 3,022  new cases, 484,639 total, and 83 deaths, bringing the toll to 14,013. The seven-day average positive test rate was again below 5 percent, at 4.67. 
 
Nationally, the number of cumulative cases is 25,551,884 and deaths, 427,844.  
 
 
Jan. 26: Two hundred county residents have now died from complications of COVID-19 almost exactly a year since it was declared a global health emergency. There have been 62 deaths in January so far, almost a third of all deaths since the first confirmed casualty on March 22, 2020. 
 
Statewide, the number of deaths was 41 for a total of 13,930, and nationally, 424,690 souls have been lost to the virus.
 
There is some good news: the number of new confirmed cases appears to be keeping to a downward trend. The Berkshires recorded 20 new cases, for a total of 4,363, and the state was at 2,215, for a total of 481,617. Those numbers are half or less what the average has been for nearly two weeks. The seven-day average positive rate is below 5 percent for the second day in a row at 4.77 percent. 
 
Nationally, the number of cumulative infections stands at 25,424,174. 
 
The number of hospitalizations, both local and statewide, have not changed much. Springside nursing home, which was addressing a serious outbreak a few weeks ago, is down to 27 active cases in patients and 20 in staff. Overall, the nursing facility has had 89 confirmed cases in residents and 42 in staff. 
 
Fairview Commons in Great Barrington is currently dealing with an outbreak with 40 residents confirmed active and five employees. 
 
 
Jan. 25: There were four deaths recorded in the county, bringing the toll from COVID-19 to 199 to date. Another 44 confirmed cases were recorded for 4,343 to date. 
 
The state and county are seeing a general decline in new cases now that the holidays are more than two weeks in the rearview mirror. Berkshire County averaged 64 new cases a day for the first two weeks of the new year but 49 for the past 11 days. The state was recording an average of 5,275 cases a day but that has dropped by a 1,000, to 4,173, for the past 11 days. The seven-day average positive test rate is 4.82 percent. 
 
The number of hospitalizations in the county has not changed much over the past couple weeks. There are 34 patients, including two in the Fairview swing unit, and eight patients with tests pending. The number of deaths in the hospital has risen to 82; 77 patients have been readmitted since March. 
 
Overall hospitalizations statewide are down below 2,000 but there are still nearly 300 patients who are intubated. The number of infections continue to be highest in those age 19 or younger, with the 20-29 range close behind. The lowest are those in the age range of 70 and older but the novel coronavirus continues to take the highest toll in that group, with an average age at death 79.
 
The governor on Monday announced that those age 65 and older would be moved up in the Phase 2 vaccination schedule that begins on Feb. 1. Individuals can begin making appointments on Wednesday through the online portal at one of the vaccination centers being set up. 
 
North Adams Health Inspector Heather DeMarsico reported that one employee at City Hall was confirmed for COVID-19. Other employees who had been in close contact with the individual have been informed and, since the building has been closed since last March, there is minimal risk of exposure to the public. Staffing is being adjusted to work schedules to maintain operations and limit the potential for community spread.
 
Jan. 24: The county recorded 29 new cases for a total of 4,299 and one death, bringing the toll to 195. The state recorded 67 deaths, for a total of 13,844 and 3,750  new cases, for a total of 475,925. The seven-day average positive test rate dropped to 4.85 percent, the first time its been below 5 percent in weeks.
 
Jan. 23: The county recorded one death and 47 new cases, for totals of 4,270 and 194 respectively. The state had 4,330 new cases for a total of 472,175 and 75 deaths for a total of 13,777.
 
The seven-day average positive rate was 5.17 percent. Nationwide, the case numbers are 24,982,615 and deaths, 417,339.
 
Jan. 22: The state may be seeing a downward trend in COVID-19 cases but not so much Berkshire County. The county reported 62 new cases on Friday bringing the total to date to 4,223; there was only one death for a total of 193. 
 
In good news, Pittsfield as dropped out of the red zone to yellow, and reported only six new cases on Thursday. The number of deaths in the city has remained at 49. There are still nearly 500 households in quarantine and 842 active cases, about 40 percent of the total 2,097 cases to date. 
 
The number of patients on precautions at BMC is up slightly, with 34 at the Pittsfield hospital and two in the Fairview swing unit; five patients have tests pending. The number of deaths at the hospital has not changed from 76.
 
The outbreak at Springside nursing home is declining, with 43 patients now confirmed as active cases; there have been 86 total cases over the past year, most in the last month or so. 
 
Statewide, there were 4,935 new cases for a total of 467,845 and 80 deaths, for a total of 13,702. The seven-day average positive test rate remains below 6 percent at 5.51. The number of cases nationwide is 24,775,585 and deaths, 413,059.
 
Jan. 21: The governor announced the lifting of the stay-at-home advisory and the 9:30 business curfew effective Monday, Jan. 25. Occupancy levels will remain at 25 percent at least in February. The administration also opened vaccination availability to anyone in the Phase One categories of all health-care workers, first-responders, long-term and congregate care workers and home-health care workers.

The basis for lifting the curfew and advisory is the downward trend in cases and hospitalizations. The seven-day average peaked on Jan. 8 at 6,233.3 cases; on Jan. 20, it was 2,977, or less than half.

There are still more than 2,000 hospitalizations and nearly 300 patients intubated. The average age for hospitalizations is 71, but the highest number of cases continue to be in the 0-19 years range, with 14,574 cases during the last two weeks.

The state reported 4,821 new cases Thursday for a total of 462,910, and 75 deaths bringing that total to 13,622. The seven-day average positive test rate is 5.57 percent, the fifth straight day it has been below 6 percent.

In the Berkshires, there were 38 new cases and two deaths, for totals of 4,161 and 192, respectively. Pittsfield has recorded more than 400 cases over the past two weeks with a 14-day average test rate of 5.8 percent; North Adams recorded 60 new cases and a test rate of 3.0 percent. Tiny Mount Washington had the highest average test rate at more than 55 percent but had only five positive cases.

 
Jan. 20: Three more deaths were reported in the county bringing the total to 190; 76 of those have occurred in the hospital. The number of patients at BMC on precautions has dropped to 31, with three in the Fairview swing unit, and two more are pending tests.
 
The number of new cases is 42, for a total fo 4,123. The county averaged 42 cases daily in December but so far in January, that average has jumped to 61.
 
Statewide, the number of new cases was 3,987 for a total of 458,089 and the number of deaths 78, totaling 13,547. The seven-day positive average test rate was 5.86 percent. 
 
The number of nationwide cases was 24,403,070 and the number of deaths, 405,400.
 
 
Jan. 19: The pandemic has now caused more than 400,000 deaths nationwide, including three in the Berkshires. The number of deaths countywide is now 187, 76 of which have occurred in the hospital. 
 
There were 53 new cases in the county, for a total of 4,018, and 34 people are now hospitalized with COVID-19 precautions. As of Jan. 18, Springside Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center is reporting 55 confirmed cases of residents with COVID-19 and 28 staff members. It has had a total of 86 residents cases since March. It's the largest outbreak currently at the 11 BaneCare nursing facilities.
 
Statewide, the number of new cases declined again to 2,567 for a total of  454,102 to date; there have been 45 deaths, for a total of 13,469. The seven-day average positive test rate is 5.94 percent. That is down almost 2 percent since last week.  
 
The number of cumulative cases in Pittsfield has now to 2,047 and more than 400 households are supposed to be isolating. The number of deaths in the city has remained at 49 for almost two weeks. The number of cases in North Adams was 263 as of last week.
 
Jan. 18: The number of new cases of the novel coronavirus topped 4,000 in the county and 24 million nationwide on Monday. 
 
The Berkshires recorded no new deaths, leaving the total count so far at 184, and added 59 new cases for a total of 4,028 to date. Statewide the numbers were 52 deaths (13,424) and 3,224 cases (451,535). The seven-day positive average is 5.91 percent.
 
BMC is reporting 41 inpatients on precautions (two in the Fairview swing unit) and one with a pending test. The hospital has had 28 hospitalizations of confirmed cases in the past seven days and 62 in the past week. There have been 75 deaths. 
 
 
Jan. 17: There was one death and 32 new cases reported in the county. The total number of cases is now 3,969. The state reported 67 deaths, for a total of 13,372, and 4,283 new cases, for a total of 448,311. The seven-day average positive test rate dropped to 5.86 percent. 
 
The Department of Public Healther confirmed on Sunday the first case of the COVID-19 variant first found in the United Kingdom. The Boston resident had traveled to the United Kingdom and tested negative prior to returning home. She felt ill in early January and tested positive; a genetic sample was sent to an out of state laboratory and was confirmed as B.1.1.7. To date, the CDC has reported 88 cases from 14 states in the United States.
 
Jan. 16: Daily case numbers in the Berkshires show no sign of abating, with another 78 reported on Saturday. During the summer, the county was seeing days without any cases being reported. There were also another three deaths, bringing the total to 183. 
 
The seven-day average positive test rate statewide has continued to drop, now 6.15 percent, but daily cases remain in the 5,000-6,000 range. Saturday's report was 5,657 new cases for 444,028 total; deaths were 74, for 13,305. 
 
The number of infections have mainly increased in younger people, with the greatest number of new cases over the past two weeks being in the three categories for ages ranging from 0 to 39. Those under age 20 have the highest confirmed cases at 14,179. 
 
The average age of hospitalizations is now 73. There are nearly 300 people intubated statewide although there has been a slight decrease in overall hospitalizations at 2,197. BMC reported on Friday that it has 40 (four at Fairview) patients on precautions with two pending tests. This is down about 20 from two weeks ago. There have now been 72 deaths at the hospital.
 
The number of deaths globally has surpassed 2 million and confirmed infections now total 94,410,568. The United States makes up 20 percent of all deaths and 25 percent of all infections worldwide. 
 
Jan. 15: There were two more deaths bringing the total to 180  and 52 new cases for a total of 3,859. 
 
The state reported 75 deaths for a total of 13,231 and 5,074 cases for a total of 438,371. Nationwide, total cases number 23,491,421 and deaths, 391,540. The statewide seven-day average 6.45. The county's 11-day average as of Jan. 14 is 4.95 percent.
 
In the last seven days there have been 52,239 first doses of vaccine and 206,190 total; 31,673 second doses in the past week and 32,894 total. Total cumulative doses so far is 239,174. 
 
Massachusetts has received 142,350 Pfizer doses and 205,100 Moderna doses. The Berkshires have so far received 7,650.
 
Pittsfield has set up a hotline for city residents to provide them with information on when vaccines will be available. The number 413-449-5575 goes into operation this weekend and will be updated Mondays. Currently individuals in Phase 1 (health-care workers, first-responders, and congregate-care facilities).
 
Jan. 14: The county's death rate continues to climb with six more deaths reported on Thursday. At least 178 people have now succumbed to novel coronavirus. 
 
Cases countywide jumped by another 74, bringing the total to 3,807. Several of the smaller communities have seen a significant increase in cases over the past weeks. 
 
Cheshire nearly doubled its total cases, adding 34 over the last two weeks for a total of 72. Adams was up more than 25 percent, with 46 cases for total of 171. Great Barrington was up nearly a third with 80 cases and Lanesborough up 28 percent with 21 cases and a total of 76.  North Adams added 72 cases for a total of 263.
 
A few towns have had neglible cases. Florida has five and Hancock a total of 12 with none in the last 14 days. 
 
The state reported a seven-day positive average rate of 6.67 percent, down from more than 8 percent over the holidays. There were 5,545 new cases for a total of 433,297 and 74 deaths, for a total of 13,156.
 
Jan. 13: Six more deaths were reported in the county bringing the total number now to 172. Half of all deaths to date occurred since Dec. 9, or 50 percent in five weeks. Sixty-eight deaths occurred at Berkshire Medical Center over the last 10 months. 
 
The hospital is down to 48 (four at Fairview); 23.4 percent of the 47 tests at BMC in the last seven days have been positive.
 
The number of new cases is 52 for a total of 3,733.
 
The statewide seven-day positive average test rate is 7.11 percent. The number of new cases is 5,278, for a total of 427,752; the number of deaths is 86, bringing the number to 13,082.
 
Nationwide, the number of infections has surpassed 23 million and deaths stand at 383,939.
 
Gov. Charlie Baker defended his administration's strategy of taking a phased approach to COVID-19 vaccine distribution and the decision to move to congregate care facilities — including corrections facilities — next week. 
 
In North Adams, the Board of Health declined, for the moment, to close restaurants despite a spike in cases traced back to eateries and Mayor Linda Tyer in Pittsfield warned that the city had seen a steep increase over the past five days and a seven-day average positive test rate of 6 percent. 
 
 
Jan. 12: The county recorded 67 new cases and two deaths for totals of 3,681 and 166, respectively. The state reported 4,906 new cases, bringing that number to 422,474, and 67 deaths, for a total of 12,996.
 
BMC is down to 48 patients on precautions, three of those at Fairview, and one pending. Over the past week, has had 27 confirmed COVID-19 cases and there have been 67 deaths since March. 
 
Jan. 11: Positive cases continue to rise in the county with 71 reported on Monday for a total of 3,614, and one death bringing the count to 163. Pittsfield accounts for more than half the cases with 1,807 recorded Monday, but less than a third of the deaths at 49. 
 
The state recorded 4,239 new cases and 417,568 total, and 54 deaths for 12,929 total. The seven-day positive average rate is 7.26 percent. 
 
The number of hospitalizations has declined to just over 2,200 but there are 451 patients in ICUs and 285 who are intubated. The average age for hospitalization is at 73. 
 
BMC has seen a slight decline with 57 patients on precautions (three at the Fairview swing unit) and one pending tests. The hospital has had 64 deaths. 
 
National numbers are 22,540,969 cases and 375,373 deaths. 
 
First-responders began receiving the vaccine on Monday, with the Moderna vaccine distributed in North County. The majority of the public safety officials and EMTs are expected to be inoculated with the first shot by the end of the week. Reported about 75 percent of health-care workers at Berkshire Health Systems have been inoculated. 
 
Jan. 10: The county made it through a day with no reported deaths and added 43 new cases for a total of 3,543. The state reported 77 deaths for a total of 12,875 and 5,396 cases for a total of 413,329.
 
The seven-day positive average rate is 7.21, down more than a point from last month.
 
Jan. 9: The county recorded five more deaths, bringing the count to 163, and 86 new cases for a total of 3,500 since March. The state's numbers were 7,110 cases (407,933) and 90 deaths (12,798). 
 
Within a four-day period the state went from a low of 2,645 on Dec. 24 from the surge after Halloween to the highest case count of the year on 8,522 of Dec. 28. However, the number of deaths have remain low relative to a high of 197 reached on April 4. 
 
The seven-day positive test rate is 7.35 percent, and the rates for North Adams is 4.61 percent and Pittsfield 4.65 percent over the past 14 days. 
 
The national numbers were 22,095,975 cases and 371,989 deaths.
 
Jan. 8: The state passed the 400,000 mark in cumulative cases to date and another 74 Bay State citizens have died, bringing the total to 12,708.  The pandemic shows no sign of abating as hospitalizations remain at more than 2,300 with more than 400 in ICUs. The 14-day incidence rate is 61.1 per 100,000 people and the seven-day positive average test rate is 7.42 percent. 
 
Probable cases have continued to be tracked as well, with 485 reported on Friday for a total of 18,898. Some of these may later be confirmed, others are based from the beginning of the pandemic when health officials relied on symptoms and exposure. There have been 277 probable COVID-19 related deaths. More than 6,700 people, or nearly half, had died in hospitals and nearly that number had a pre-existing condition that put them at risk for the infection. 
 
In Berkshire County, one more person has died and 76 more cases were reported. There have now been 158 deaths and 3,414 total confirmed cases. The county has had an average of 62 cases reported daily in the two weeks since Christmas Eve. 
 
The national numbers also continue to rise with 21,818,572 and 368,296 deaths. The highest daily average of reported deaths over the last seven days has been in Arizona, Rhode Island, Tennessee, West Virginia and New Mexico. The U.S. saw a 19 percent increase in deaths over the past week. A high of more than 4,000 daily deaths was reported as of Thursday.
 
Jan. 7: Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday extended restrictions on businesses that went into effect on Dec. 26 through at least Jan. 24 in an effort to stem Massachusetts' second surge of COVID-19 cases. The limitations were to end on Jan. 10.
 
The number of positive cases continue to climb in the Berkshires with 78 more added on Thursday for a total of 3,338 to date. There were two deaths, bringing that number to 157. Two-thirds of these deaths have occurred since the beginning of December. 
 
Berkshire Medical Center has 61 patients on precautions and one awaiting tests; Fairview still has six. There have been 62 deaths in the hospital.
 
The county has a seven-day positive test rate of 4.18 percent, nearly half the state's rate of 7.83 percent Thursday. North Adams had a higher rate of 4.61 and Pittsfield of 4.65; Williamstown's was quite low at 1.84. 
 
The state had 7,136 new cases for a total of 393,188 and 71 deaths for a total of 12,634. There are now 21,503,004 cases nationwide and 364,218 deaths. 
 
Jan. 6: The county lost another five lives and added 86 more positive cases, for totals of 155 and 3,260, respectively. The number of new cases statewide was 6,419, for a total of 386,052, and the number of deaths was 99, for a total of 12,563 to date. 
 
The seven-day average positive test rate is 8.25 percent. 
 
Pittsfield was back in the red with 60 new cases as of Tuesday for a total of 1,666. More than 400 households were in quarantine and the death toll stands at 49. The number of patients on COVID-19 precautions has risen to 54 at BMC and six at Fairview. 
 
Jan. 5: Five more people have died in Berkshire County from COVID-19, bringing the number to date to 150, and a high of 92 new cases were reported on Tuesday. The county has averaged 57 new cases a day since Christmas Day. In contrast, the average was eight cases per day in the week leading up to Halloween. 
 
The state recorded 4,178 new cases for a total of 379,633 and 63 deaths, bringing that total to 12,464. The seven-day positive average test rate is 8.57 percent; the number is 3.43 percent in North Adams and 3.23 percent in Pittsfield. New Ashford at 14.29 percent and Lanesborough at 16.67 percent are much higher than the rest of the county but might be caused by low testing number.
 
The average age of those confirmed for COVID-19 is 41 but the average hospitalization is 73 and death is 81. More than 2,400 people are now hospitalized and 425 are in ICUs. BMC has 47 patients on precautions and five pending tests; there is one patient at Fairview and five in the swing program. There have been 61 deaths at the hospital.
 
 
Jan. 4: The county added another death, for a total of 145, and 62 new cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 3,082. BMC still has 49 patients on precautions and four pending results, along with another four in the swing unit at Fairview. So far 60 deaths have occurred at BMC, up from 53 on Thursday. 
 
The state numbers were 4,358 new cases and 60 deaths, bringing the totals to  375,455 and 12,401, respectively. The seven-day average positive rate is 8.50. 
 
The governor on Monday announced plans to begin the second phase of the vaccination program for emergency responders, including EMTs, police and fire. Berkshire County first-responders will be able to start signing up for appointments at one of three county vaccination centers, according to the state's website: St. Elizabeth's Parish Center in North Adams, Berkshire Community College's Paterson Field House in Pittsfield and the W.E.B. Du Bois Middle School in Great Barrington.
 
BMC is continuing to inoculate employees and has now received several hundred doses of the Moderna vaccine to supplement the Pfizer shipment from last month. Both vaccines require two doses a few weeks apart. In December, the state received 285,050 doses of vaccine, 138,450 from Pfizer and 146,600 from Moderna. Berkshire County had received 7,050 doses as of Dec. 29.  
 
The state Department of Public Health also launched the new interactive COVID-19 dashboard with rocky results. The site worked only intermittently and was down "Due to high volumes of web traffic." DPH was still working to load the site at 7:30 p.m.
 
Jan. 3: The number of deaths jumped by six and cases by 38 on Sunday. There have been 144 deaths so far in the county, of which about 93 were residents at local nursing homes. As of Thursday, Berkshire Medical Center reported 53 deaths had occurred in the hospital. 
 
The number of cases total in the county have now passed 3,000. About half of these cases have been reported since Nov. 28, within just over a month. 
 
Statewide, there were 3,110 cases reported for a total of 371,097; there were 105 deaths reported for a total of 12,341. The seven-day positive average test rate was 8.42.
 
Household clusters continue to dominate exposures to the novel coronavirus with 19,931 clusters traced in the two weeks leading up to Christmas and 51,044 confirmed cases. Long-term and child care facilities are also high but far, far below households with clusters in the mid-100s and confirmed cases of 1,186 and 478, respectively. Offices, retail, restaurants and schools are among the lowest transmission sites. 
 
Jan. 2: The county saw 75 new cases since New Year's Eve on Thursday but no deaths, leaving the total 138.
 
A surge in COVID-19 cases reportedly overwhelmed Berkshire Medical Center's emergency department on Thursday afternoon. The hospital has been dealing with the increase in cases and staff having to isolate because of exposure to the coronavirus. 
 
The patient numbers have climbed, with BMC as of its last update Thursday reporting 49 patients on COVID-19 positive precautions and 35 confirmed positives hospitalized within the seven days prior. Over the last two weeks of December, there have been 67 hospitalizations. 
 
Statewide, the number of patients has remained about 2,200 but the average age of hospitalizations has risen to 73 after being in the 60s for several months. The average age of deaths has stayed at 81. Both those age groups have the lowest numbers of infections; ages 0 to 29 have the highest. 
 
The number of statewide cases reported was 8,542 for a total of 367,987 and deaths 79 for a total of 12,236. The seven-day positive average rate is 8.67 percent. 
 
Nationally, the cumulative number of cases is more than 20 million and 349,521 people have died. An average of 2,400 people died every day over the past week.
 
Dec. 31: The county ends 2020 with two more deaths and 62 new cases of COVID-19. December has been a particularly difficult month with 1,262 new cases, or 43 percent of all cases this year. There were 64 deaths, or 46 percent of all deaths so far. 
 
North Adams has had 199 cases total, or about 7 percent of the county's total, with nearly a quarter of those in the last two weeks. Williamstown has a cumulative case count of 161, with 25 in the last two weeks and Adams 126, with 24 in the last two weeks. 
 
Statewide, the seven-day positive test rate is now 8.60 percent. The state recorded 6,887 new cases for a total of 359,445 and 81 more deaths for a total of 12,157.
 
There will be no update on Jan. 1.
 
Dec. 30: The number of deaths statewide passed 12,000 and cases topped 350,000. The death toll of 118 was the highest in one day in months. The Berkshires recorded four deaths for a total of 136 and added 58 new cases for a total of 2,845.
 
The seven-day positive average rate jumped to 8.44 percent, almost 106 times higher than it was in August. The governor on Wednesday urged residents not to travel or gather in groups larger than 10 — and preferably only with those they live with — over the New Year's holiday. 
 
There is some indication people are taking precautions after the surge in cases after Halloween and Thanksgiving that saw the number of hospitalizations more than double to 2,257. Of those, more than 400 are in ICUs and at least 231 are intubated. Gov. Baker said the number of passengers at Logan Airport is down 70 percent from the same period last year.
 
He also said at Wednesday's briefing that close to 100,000 people will have their first vaccination by week's end and that another 200,000 or so would be done by the end of January. The next round of vaccinations — the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots — will begin on Jan. 19. 
 
The number of deaths in the nation climbed to 341,964 and cases overall to 19,722,442, nearly twice that of the next closest nation, India. Worldwide there have been more than 1.8 million deaths and nearly 83 million cases. 
 
Dec. 29: The number of county deaths continues to creep up with another one reported Tuesday for a total of 132. The number of new cases is 54 for a total of 2,787, of which 1,424 were in Pittsfield. 
 
The number of new cases statewide was 3,659 for a total of 346,423. The number for Tuesday was slightly down but the seven-day average positive test rate was 7.58, up nearly a full percentage over Monday. This may be because of less testing being done over the holidays, with the number of molecular tests down about 10,000 from a week ago. 
 
The number of cases nationwide is now 19.5 million and deaths are at 337,210. There were 58 deaths reported in the state for a total of 11,958. 
 
As of Dec. 28, Hillcrest is still at zero cases, Kimball Farms is at one and Williamstown Commons is 16. Berkshire Healthcare began voluntary vaccinations on Monday.
 
Dec. 28: Two more deaths were reported in the county and 56 new cases, bringing the total to 2,733. The state had 4,060 cases for a total of 342,764, and 48 deaths. The seven-day positive average rate was 6.68. 
 
The number of deaths nationwide was 334,515 and the number of total cases, 19,257,274.
 
Dec. 27: Three more deaths were reported in Berkshire County bringing the total to 129, with nine in the last five days. There have been 65 deaths since Dec. 1, or about half of all deaths to date, making this final month of 2020 the deadliest since the beginning of the pandemic. 
 
The state reported 100 deaths for a total of 11,825. There have been 1,283 deaths since Dec. 1 or nearly 11 percent of all deaths since March 1 with four more days left in the year. 
 
More than 2,100 people are hospitalized, with more than 400 in ICUs and 230 on ventilators. Statewide, the number of positive cases has surpassed 338,000. The largest number of total infections is in the 20-29 age group. Between Dec. 6 and 19, there were 11,427 positive cases in that age group, followed by 10,797 for the 0-19 age group. 
 
The smallest number of infections was for the combined age groups of 70 to 80 years and older — 5,612 — but the average age for deaths is 80. The second lowest group is 60-69 years and the average age of those hospitalized is 69.
 
The seven-day positive average rate is 6.28 percent.
 
Nationally, the number cases passed 19 million and deaths, 330,000.
 
Dec. 26: Today's numbers include reports from midnight Thursday to midnight Friday on Christmas Day. The county reported another death, for a total of 126, and 56 new cases for 2,660 total. 
 
The state reported 7,424 new cases for a total of 335,731, and 46 more deaths. Nationwide, the total number of infections is approaching 19 million and deaths have now surpassed 330,000.
 
Dec. 24: Christmas Eve found four more deaths recorded in Berkshire County for a total of 125 deaths to date. The number of new cases also remained high at 58, putting the total number to over 2,600. 
 
Statewide deaths were 76, for a total of 11,706, and the number of new cases was 5,655 for a total of 328,307. 
 
New gathering limits go into effect on Saturday — all venues at 25 percent capacity; outdoor limit is 25 and indoors 10. The next public health dashboard will be published Saturday, Dec. 26.
 
Dec. 23: The county recorded 33 new cases and one death; the state, 4,509 new cases and 81 deaths. This is one of the largest single spikes in statewide deaths in some weeks. 
 
The seven-day average positive rate is 5.92 percent. 
 
Nationally, the number of deaths has now surpassed 325,000 and total cases more than 18.4 million.
 
Dec. 22: Tuesday marked the first day a death was not recorded since Nov. 24. There have been 68 deaths in the 28 days since then, or 57 percent of all deaths from COVID-19 to date in the county.
 
The number of new cases was 31, bringing the total to date to 2,513. Pittsfield's transmission rate has dropped into the yellow category after nearly a month in the red. The city's has seen 721 new cases between Nov. 25 and Dec. 21, or 55 percent of its cases since March 1. The highest daily number was 73 on Dec. 1. Nearly 41,000 tests have been administered and almost half of those since late October. The city's positive test rate is about 4.77 percent after hitting 7.9 percent two weeks ago. 
 
Still, there are nearly 900 active cases and more than 400 households in quarantine. The rate of positive tests over the past seven days at BMC is 4.4 percent for PCR and 11.4 percent for antibodies. There are 30 patients with two more pending tests. 
 
Berkshire Healthcare Systems reports only nine active cases now at Hillcrest Commons, 13 at Kimball Farms and 22 at Williamstown Commons, as off Sunday. 
 
The statewide seven-day average positive rate is 5.98 percent and the number of new cases is 3,293 for a total of 318,143. The death toll is 11,549 with 43 new deaths reported.
 
The governor announced new restrictions effective Saturday, Dec. 26, to limit gatherings and parties during the holidays. Occupancy levels are set at 25 percent and indoor gatherings at 10. 
 
Nationwide, the total number of cases climbed to 18,168,777, and deaths to 322,611.
Dec. 21: The state reported 37 new cases in the county, for a total of 2,482, and one death, bringing that total to 120. 
 
There were 3,760 new cases statewide, bringing the total to almost 315,000, and 41 deaths for a total of 11,506. The seven-day positive average rate is 5.94 percent. The number of cases nationwide is now more than 18 million with 319,363 reported deaths. 
 
 
Dec. 20: Two more deaths were reported bringing the total to 119 in the county and another 41 cases were reported for a total of 2,445. 
 
The number of cases statewide rose to 311,090 with another 4,162 reported Sunday. The number of deaths was 60, for a total of 11,465. The seven-day average positive rate dropped to 5.78 percent. 
 
Nationally, the cases have climbed to 17.8 million and 317,597 have now died.
 
 
Dec. 19: Dec. 19: the county recorded 25 new cases for a total of 2,404 and one death, bringing the total to 117. 
 
Nearly half of the deaths to date are from the deadly outbreaks at Hillcrest Commons and Kimball Farms nursing homes in Pittsfield. Forty residents at Hillcrest have died and 15 at Kimball Farms; prior to that, there were about 25 deaths at Williamstown Commons. 
 
To date, about 82 percent of the deaths from COVID-19 in Berkshire County were at the three nursing homes. 
 
As of Thursday, the number of active cases at Hillcrest was down to a dozen at both Pittsfield facilities. More than 100 patients at Hillcrest were able to recover from the coronavirus. 
 
BMC has 31 COVID-19 patients and four more awaiting tests. There have been 67 hospitalizations in past two weeks. 
 
The number cases reported statewide on Saturday was 3,995 for a total of 306,928 and deaths was 47, for a total of 11,405. The seven-day positive average rate dropped to 6.01 percent. 
 
The number of cases nationwide is now 17,631,293 and the number of deaths, 316,006.
 
Dec. 18: Dec. 18: The daily number of cases has been declining, with 19 reported Friday. The numbers have twice been less than 20 since a high of 82 on Dec. 10. 
 
Over past seven days, the average number of cases has been 26 for Berkshire County. That's down 50 percent over the week preceding, when the daily average was 62.
 
There was no break in deaths, however, with the county recording another two fatalities for a total of 116. There have been 54 deaths since Dec. 1, or 47 percent of all deaths in the county since March 1. Pittsfield has seen the most deaths, recorded at 46 on Friday, with the majority of those from Hillcrest and Kimball Farms nursing homes. 
 
The number of cases statewide blew past 300,000 on Friday with another 5,632 reported. The number of deaths was 53 for a total of 11,358. The seven-day positive average rate is now a high of 6.13 percent.
 
Nationwide, the novel coronavirus continues to spread unimpeded with nearly 17.5 million cases to date, and a total of 241,014 reported Friday. The number of deaths was 312,845, with 2,898 reported Friday. 
 
Gov. Baker said the state received just under 50,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and that 6,200 people had already been vaccinated. The next shipment will be less than ordered — the federal government is blaming Pfizer but the company says it's delivering what was ordered — but did not think that will impact the vaccine rollout since the Moderna vaccine was authorized for use on Friday. Health-care workers, long-term care facilities and first-responders are first in line for the vaccine.
 
Dec. 17: The number of deaths reported was two for a total of 114; the number of cases 30, for a total of 2,360. The number of active cases at Hillcrest Commons had dropped dramatically to 15 as of Dec. 16; Kimball Farms is down to 14. Williamstown Commons has seen an uptick in active cases to 22 after months of being clear following a deadly outbreak at the beginning of the pandemic. 
 
The number of cases statewide was 4,985 for a total of 296,301 and 44 deaths, for 11,305 to date. The seven-day average positive rate was 6.02 percent. More than 17 million are infected nationwide and more than 309,000 have died. 
 
Dec. 16: The county's number of new cases was 34, the sixth day in a row the numbers have been under 40. The number of deaths, however, jumped by seven to a total of 112. 
 
While the county's numbers appear to be stabilizing, and possibly declining, the state's number of new cases remain high at 5,450 for a total of 292,316 to date. The number of deaths was 71 statewide, bringing the number to date to 11,261. 
 
The number of patients at BMC is at 25, with four pending tests. Statewide, more than 1,800 are hospitalized, nearly 400 of whom are in intensive care units. 
 
The seven-day average positive rate increased to 6.03 percent, nearly eight times what it was in late summer. 
 
In good news, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNtech has made its way to the Berkshires and Southern Vermont. SVMC began inoculating its staff, with the first person being Dr. Anne Marie Swann of Williamstown. BMC expects to begin its inoculations on Thursday. 
 
 
 
Dec. 15: The county recorded 30 new cases for a total now of 2,296 and two more deaths, for a total of 105. The state's seven-day positive average rate is 5.88 and the number of new cases statewide is 3,720 for a total of 286,866. The number of deaths were 55 for a total of 11,190.
 
The number of cases worldwide passed 73 million with 1.6 million reported deaths. 
 
BMC was expected to receive its first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday. 
 
 
Dec. 14: The deadly outbreak at Hillcrest Commons may finally be on the wane. As of Monday, the nursing home reported 49 active patient cases, down from more than 130 at the beginning of the month. Its sister site, Kimball Farms Nursing Care, has seen its numbers drop to 21, almost by half. More than 30 patients from Hillcrest have died and four more from Kimball Farms, accounting for the majority of deaths in Pittsfield since Thanksgiving. 
 
On Monday, two more deaths in Berkshire County were recorded for a total of 103 and 37 statewide. There were 14 new cases in the county, which may point to a decline. The numbers of new cases have consistently dropped over the past four days but, being Monday, that may be because of a backlog in testing. 
 
The number of deaths nationwide passed the 300,000 mark; there have been more than 16.5 million cases to date. 
 
BMC was expected to receive its first vaccine doses on Monday. The hospital has seen a decline in its positive test rate at 4.6, down from 7.6 percent over two weeks. There are 31 patients with six awaiting tests and 40 total on precautions.
 
Dec. 13: Another four deaths were recorded to bring the number of county fatalities to date to 101. The number of new cases was 24, for a total of 2,252. 
 
The seven-day average test rate is 5.61 and the number of deaths statewide, 41. There have now been 11,098 deaths statewide and 279,574 positive cases. The Pfizer vaccine has received emergency authorizations and the first doses are expected to be delivered to BMC this week. 
 
Dec. 12: The number of deaths went up by two on Saturday, to 97 to date. The number of new cases was 30. 
 
There were 4,968 new cases statewide for a total of 274,897 to date. The number of deaths was 47, bringing the total to 11,057 . The seven-day positive average rate was 5.60 percent. The national number of positive cases passed 16 million and the number of deaths now stands at 297,575.
 
Dec. 11: Another four deaths were recorded in Berkshire County, bringing the total deaths to date to 95. Nearly a third of the fatalities are related to the deadly outbreak at Hillcrest Commons. As of Thursday, the long-care term facility has seen its active patient cases drop to 76; its total cases are at 171. 
 
Unfortunately, its sister site, Kimball Farms Nursing Care has seen its numbers swell to 28 and it has had at least four deaths. Williamstown Commons is up to 10 cases after being at zero for months following an outbreak early in the pandemic.
 
The number of new cases in the county is 40 and the total number since March is 2,198. The state saw 5,476 new cases for a total of 269,929. The seven-day positive average rate is 5.72 percent. 
 
More than 1,600 people are hospitalized across the state. BMC has 36 patients and has had 79 in the last two weeks. Overall, there have been 206 hospitalizations, including three at Fairview; there were 29 readmissions and 36 deaths in the hospital. 
 
Dec. 10: Deaths climbed again in the county with four, bringing the total to 91. That's 39 just since Nov. 24 and most have come from the outbreak at Hillcrest Commons. There were another 82 positive cases reported for a total of 2,158 to date. 
 
Statewide the numbers were 41 deaths and 5,130 infections statewide. The seven-day average positive test rate is 5.67. The number of cases in the once low-transmission Berkshire County prompted the state to finally open free community testing through the Stop the Spread program, reportedly largely at the strong urging of the Berkshire delegation. Berkshire Health Systems reports this testing sites are now open for asymptomatic testing although you must make and appointment. 
 
The national numbers are now 15,586,978 infections and 291,929 deaths, with the nations recording a Pearl Harbor's worth of casualties every day.
Dec. 9: The number of deaths continues to rise in the Berkshires with six reported on Wednesday for a total of 87 to date. 
 
Hillcrest Commons has seen 29 deaths so far from a major outbreak of COVID-19.
 
The number of active cases dropped  to 86 patients, from a high of more than 130 at once, and 45 employees. So far, 171 residents have contracted the virus and 76 employees. Kimball Farms Nursing Care has had four deaths. Its numbers are now 32 active cases, for a total of 56, and eight employees.  
 
The county recorded 51 new cases for a total of 2,076, and the state, 5,675. The seven-day positive average rate is now 5.86. 
 
The governor also announced that vaccine distribution is expected to begin this month with the priority on health-care workers and long-term care patients. BMC is one of 21 hospitals among  the first to begin receiving the vaccine. 
 
Dec. 8: There were four local deaths for the second day in a row, bringing the total to 81; there have been 28 deaths since Nov. 24, or 35 percent of all deaths since March. Pittsfield has had 33 deaths, 27 of those since Nov. 24.
 
The total number of cases in the county is now 2,025 and, in Pittsfield, 1,000. The seven-day positive test rate is now 5.81 and the state saw 3,627 new cases for a total of 253,649 to date.
 
BMC has 35 patients and has had 65 in the last 14 days. Eleven patients are pending tests. Hillcrest Commons now has 126 cases and Kimball Farms Nursing Home, 37.
 
The increase in cases lead state officials to roll back the reopening plan to Step 1 of Phase 3. This reduces occupancy rates to 40 percent, closes performance venues and limits dining to six people at a table for 90 minutes.
 
Dec. 7: The county recorded another four deaths, bringing the total 77 but only 15 new cases. This being Monday, however, may contribute to the low number; it sometimes takes a day for weekend data to catch up. 
 
The high transmission rate in the Berkshires has lead the state to work with Berkshire Health Systems to beef up testing. The Stop the Spread campaign will open three sites with free testing next week.  
 
Gov. Charlie Baker in his remarks on Monday also pointed to the Thanksgiving holiday as a cause for the recent surge in cases statewide. 
 
"If you track our data, after some of the regulations we put in place in early November, you can see positive test rates stop growing day over day for 10 days," Baker said. "And about five to seven days after Thanksgiving, they took off like a rocket."
 
Statewide, the number of new cases also dropped, to 2,463 for a total of 250022 to date, and 30 deaths. There are now more than 1,500 people hospitalized. 
 
Dec. 6: The county has twice in less than two weeks registered five or more deaths: five on Nov. 29 and six on Dec. 6. Those are the highest numbers since five were recorded on a single day back in April. There have now been 21 deaths since Nov. 24 and 73 total since March. 
 
The were 53 positive cases reported, bringing the total to 1,954 to date. The state numbers were 4,474 cases and 48 deaths. The nationwide number of total cases is closing in on 15 million with between 150,000 and 200,000 recorded daily and around 2,000 deaths every day. 
 
Worldwide, there have been 1.5 million deaths form COVID-19.
 
 
 
Dec. 5: The county recorded two deaths bringing the total to 68, and 100 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. 
 
The county recorded 1,085 cases between Nov. 5 and Dec. 5; that is a 125 percent increase on the number of cases between March and November and 58 percent of all cases to date.
 
The seven-day positive rate average is 5.40 percent and the state recorded 5,356 new cases and 41 deaths. 
 
Dec. 4: There was no death recorded in Berkshire County for the first time in nine days; the total so far remains at 66. The number of positive tests also took a slight dip at 23 — it had been double that or more that past week.
 
The toll in Pittsfield has increased: after holding at six for months, the city has now recorded 23. Seventeen of these deaths, or more than 2/3, have occurred since since Nov. 24. Pittsfield has 609 confirmed active cases and the Pittsfield Public Schools have now suspended in-person learning until such time as the positivity rate drops below 3 percent again. 
 
The Pittsfield schools have been remote since Nov. 12; also this week the Southern Berkshire Regional School District on Thursday evening decided it will remain remote until after next year's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
 
The number of hospitalizations at BMC has jumped to 34 with five more pending tests. The number of deaths at the hospital is now 22.
 
The number of positive tests statewide for Friday is 5,192 and the number of deaths, 37. More than 1,300 people are now hospitalized and the state this week setup the DCU Center in Worcester again for any overflow patients. 
 
The seven-day positive test rate average is 5.44 percent, the second day in row it has been more than 5 percent.
 
Dec. 3: The Berkshires registered a death from COVID-19 for the eighth consecutive day. There have now been 14 deaths reported since Nov. 24; 21 percent of all deaths so far have occurred over the past week. The longest period without a death was 46 days in late summer.
 
The number of positive cases for the county was 52 and for the state, 6,477. However, the daily dashboard indicated that 680 tests reported positive on Dec. 3 had actually been done by one laboratory prior to Dec. 1.  The delay in reporting was caused by a technical issue with the software used by that laboratory's reporting vendor.
 
That could lower the seven-day positive test rate average, which broke 5 percent. Anything under that is considered the benchmark for considering any broad reopening, according to the World Health Organization. Massachusetts had long been considered at low level by holding its average well below 5 percent, along with Vermont. As of Wednesday, Vermont was at 1.9 percent although it has seen its daily case numbers rising, with 101 reported Wednesday.
 
BMC now has 29 COVID-19 patients and 33 on precautions. It has seen 43 patients over the last 14 days and 158 since March 1. Twenty of the county's deaths have so far occurred in the hospital. The largest cluster of infections is still at Hillcrest Commons, which now has 132 current positive patients and 60 employees. The numbers at Kimball Farms Nursing Care have also ticked up to 33 patients and four employees. Both Lenox and Pittsfield are in the "red zone" for high average daily rates. 
 
Dalton, Great Barrington, Lanesborough and North Adams are yellow; Adams and Lee are in green; and the rest of the towns are lowest in gray. 
 
Statewide, more than 1,300 people are hospitalized and more than 260 are in ICUs. The average age of deaths is 81 and hospitalizations is 68; the largest number of infections is in the 20-29 age bracket with 6,876 between Nov. 15-28, followed closely by up to age 19 with 5,891 cases. 
 
The number of cases nationwide surpassed 14 million and the number of deaths, 275,000. 
 
 
Dec. 2: There were 83 cases reported in Berkshire County, the largest daily number to date. The closest was 82 reported on Nov. 24. 
 
The county also registered another death bringing the total to 65. More county residents have died in the past week than in the prior 5 1/2 months. 
 
The numbers have pushed Pittsfield once again into the red zone, with 489 current active cases and a total case number of 723. There have been 15 deaths in Pittsfield; nine have occurred over the past week, or nearly 70 percent of county deaths since Nov. 24.
 
The number of confirmed COVID-19 patients at BMC has risen to 26 with 32 on precautions and five pending tests.
 
Statewide, the number of daily cases nearly doubled with 4,613 reported for 225,787 to date. There were 46 deaths for 10,588 to date. 
 
The number of low-risk states for travel is now down to one: Hawaii. Any other area requires isolation and/or negative COVID-19 test. 
 
A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Controls and the Red Cross indicates that the novel coronavirus was infecting people in the United States, including Massachusetts, as early as December 2019. The first cases were identified in late January but antibodies were found in blood donated between Dec. 13, 2019, and Jan. 17, 2020, meaning these individuals had been exposed to the virus.  
 
 
Dec. 1: The number of cases in the Berkshires is again in the double digits with 43 new cases reported Tuesday and another death was reported, bringing the total to 64 deaths to date. The number of positive patients at BMC is now 23, with 28 on precautions and seven with pending tests. The hospital has had 36 patients in the last 14 days and 19 deaths since March 1.
 
Hillcrest Commons continues to carry a large caseload at 123 positive infections, but this is down four from the Monday report. 
 
In North Adams, some grades at Brayton Elementary are in full remote after a confirmed COVID-19 exposure and McCann Technical School is fully remote until Dec. 9. Mount Greylock Regional School has also switched to remote until Dec. 9 after two cases in two days. 
 
The state reported 2,845 new cases and a seven-day positive average rate of 4.61 percent. Gov. Baker on Tuesday indicated there will not be new restrictions forthcoming at the moment as there appears to be a downward trend. However, he encouraged residents to continue following pandemic protocols. 
 
 
 
Nov. 30: After more than three weeks of double-digit jumps on positive cases, the county only recorded two on Monday — although Mondays have tended to be lower because of delays in weekend reporting. However, there were two more deaths, bringing the total to 63. There have now been 11 deaths in less than a week and the same number that occurred between June and November.  
 
There are 18 patients now at Berkshire Medical Center, and nine awaiting test results. The situation at Hillcrest Commons continues to worsen with 127 resident cases and 46 employees. Kimball Farms Nursing Care now has 30 resident infections and six employee. 
 
The state reported 1,166 new cases for more than 218,000 to date; there were 25 deaths for a total of 10,512. The seven-day positive test rate average is now 3.93 percent. 
 
Nationally, there have been more than 13.5 million positive cases and more than 267,000 deaths. 
 
 
Nov. 29: There were six deaths reported in Berkshire County, for nine deaths in less than a week and 61 total to date. There were 69 new cases, bringing the total to 1,600. 
 
More than half of the county's positive cases have occurred just in the last month. It took eight months to reach 789 cases and just 30 days to reach 811. 
 
The state seven-day positive test rate average now sits at 3.80 after dipping under 1 percent in late summer. 
 
Nov. 28: Berkshire County has seen its third death from COVID-19 in less than a week as cases continue to climb in the county. Sixty-five new cases were reported on Saturday bringing the total to to date to 1,531.
 
Pittsfield has seen its total numbers climb to 617 as of Friday and the number of deaths in the city to 14 after holding at six for many months. 
 
The number of cases in North Adams has jumped by more than a dozen as of Nov. 27 with 21 positive tests over 14-day period. Pittsfield had 247 positive tests over two weeks ending Nov. 27.
 
The state's latest numbers had an increase of 2,914 for a total of 214,662, and 40 deaths. 
 
Nov. 27: Berkshire County recorded its second death this week over the Thanksgiving holiday and 43 new positive cases. The state reported data for both Thursday and Friday on Friday afternoon, with 4,464 new cases for a total of  211,748 statewide.
 
There have now been more than 13 million cases in the United States and deaths totaling more than 264,000. Berkshire Medical Center currently has 11 patients and has had 26 hospitalizations in the last two weeks. 
 
An infection in Hillcrest Commons appears to be driving some of the spike in county numbers; on Friday, the nursing home reported 83 current confirmed cases (for 95 total since March) in residents and 38 in employees. Kimball Farms Nursing Home in Lenox reported 27 residents infected and five employees. 
 
Pittsfield continues to the have the bulk of the positive cases at 524, of which 299 were active as of Nov. 26. The number of deaths in the city remains at 6.
 
Nov. 25: Berkshire County reported its first death from COVID-19 since Oct. 27 for a total of 53 to date. 
 
The COVID-19 Daily Dashboard was delayed on Wednesday to a technological issue. As a result, the numbers reflect case counts from up to a 30-hour period. The dashboard normally posts by 5 p.m.
 
This should be kept in mind when looking at the numbers, which show 3,224 new cases statewide and 64 in Berkshire County, for a local count of 1,432 to date.
 
Over the past two daily reporting periods, the county has seen a significant increase of 146 new cases. In contrast, there were 187 cases reported from the beginning of July to the end of October.  There have been 405 new cases within the last 14 days ending Nov. 25. Franklin County had the lowest rates transmission with 76 cases during that time period; the highest was Middlesex with 7,319.
 
There were 53 deaths statewide for a total of 10,372 to date. Nationally, new cases are being reported at a rate of nearly 200,000 a day and deaths at 2,000 daily. 
 
There will be no data reported on Thanksgiving Day; dashboard will update on Friday for both days. 
 
Nov. 24: The Berkshires saw an dramatic jump in cases on Tuesday with 82 reported. That brings the number to 1,359 to date. The daily number of statewide cases reported was a back in the 2000s for a total of 204,060 to date. The jump in both numbers may be due to a delay in reporting over the weekend. 
 
Deaths statewide was 20, with none in Berkshire County. Nearly 1,000 people remain hospitalized and more than 200 are in ICUs. There are nine patients at BMC and 13 awaiting tests. The hospital has had 21 COVID-19 patients total over the past 14 days.
 
 
Nov. 23: The county reported another 17 new cases on Monday and the state, 1,785. Deaths reported statewide was 18 but the number of patients remained more than 900 with nearly 100 people intubated. The governor again stressed the need to stay home during the pandemic, announcing a #GetBackMass campaign to remind people that the pandemic is still surging. 
 
Pittsfield may be over its most recent spike, at least the moment. The city saw its positive numbers nearly double over the past three weeks — from 264 on Nov. 1 to 500 even on Nov. 23. The first week of November the city had an average of five new cases a day; that jumped to almost 15 a day in the second and third weeks. Reported cases from Nov. 18 to the 23 has seen that drop to about four a day. 
 
 
Nov. 21 & 22: The number of total cases statewide passed the 200,000 mark over the weekend; the Berkshires reported 59 new cases for a total of 1,260 to date. The number of hospitalizations remains at more than 800 statewide and BMC has eight positive COVID-19 patients and another 14 awaiting test results. 
 
There were 43 deaths — the numbers have been hovering close to 20 a day — but Berkshire County has not had a death since Oct. 27. 
 
Public health officials continue to caution against holiday travel or having Thanksgiving with people outside your "pod" — the people you live with. Despite this, the Transportation Security Administration reported more than 3 million people had taken flights from Thursday to Saturday. 
 
Travelers are reminded that the only "low risk" areas recognized by the state of Massachusetts are Vermont and Hawaii. Anyone traveling from outside those states — including Bay Staters returning home — are required to isolate and/or get a negative COVID-19 test. 

Nov. 20: There were 19 more cases of COVID-19 reported in the county and 2,288 in the state. Nationwide, nearly 200,00 more cases were reported. The seven-day average positive test rate was 3.28 percent and more than 900 people are currently hospitalized, including a dozen at BMC. 
 
Central Berkshire is the latest school district to switch to all remote-learning, effective Monday, Nov. 23. Williams College has had 10 positive cases since August and MCLA, seven. The colleges will be ending in-person learning next week as students will not be returning after the Thanksgiving holiday. 
 
State officials continue to caution against travel over the holiday and has designated the number of "low risk" states to just two: Vermont and Hawaii. Travel to another regions will require a quarantine period and/or a negative test. Failure to comply could mean a $500 fine. 
 
More information on having a safe holiday can be found here.
 
 
Nov. 19: The once all-gray map of Berkshires is picking up color despite the state's reconfiguration of transmission rates to avoid small towns being considered "high" because of a handful of COVID-19 cases. 
 
Pittsfield remains at yellow after a spike in cases pushed it briefly into the red last week. Still, the city saw 204 new cases within the last two weeks, or nearly 42 percent of the 485 total cases to date. Some 85 of those new cases were within a three-day period. The city has a 33.2 incident rate and a 4.35 percent. North Adams, which has been in the gray for months, entered the green zone with 12 cases within two weeks, or 6.7 incidents per 100,000 people. North Adams now has 85 total cases.
 
The county's smaller towns, like Florida and Monterey, remain at 0 or less that five. Dalton, however, shifted into yellow with 18 new cases in two weeks, for 48 overall, and Lenox is green with 12 new cases for a total of 43. In both these cases the jumps in new cases were significant at 38 and 28 percent, respectively, of the total to date.
 
Adams remains at the lowest level though it has seen six new cases in 14 days and has 54 cases total. Clarksburg, which has been at 0 for many months after recording the first case last spring, has had five new cases in the last two weeks, but only 14 total. Perhaps more surprisingly, there 77 tests done for Clarksburg residents. 
 
The county saw 31 new cases reported on Thursday — it's gone from two or three a day to 20 or 30.
 
The public health data shows, over the past month, households continue to be the highest forms of transmissions with 15,980 confirmed cases from shared lodgings; over the same period, 99 cases have been traced to schools. Restaurants were slightly higher at 116 cases and travel and lodging (of which there has not been much) at 13 cases. 
 
Public health officials continue to caution against unnecessary travel and large gatherings over the holidays. A message from Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel was sent to 4.5 million phone lines across Massachusetts via the Everbridge resident connection alert system, reminding residents of that fact. The state has also removed the State of Washington, New York State and the District of Columbia from exempt travel states; anyone traveling from those areas will have to isolate for 14 days or get a negative test within 72 hours.
 
Nov. 18: The county saw another jump in cases of 50 on Wednesday as several restaurants in North County suspended in-door service for one or more days because of COVID-19 exposures. Williams College, which had seen only four cases since August, recorded three positives within 24 hours.
 
The number of hospitalizations statewide is approaching 900 while BMC still as 10 patients. The average age of hospitalization is 66 and deaths 81. Young adults continue to have the highest transmission rates with more than 6,000 in the last two weeks. 
 
Nov. 17: The state's seven-day average positive test rate posted as 3.25 percent on Tuesday, four times the rate from just two months ago. There were more than 2,200 new cases and more than 800 people hospitalized, including 10 patients in BMC. The county recorded another 20 cases for a total of 1,101. Pittsfield, which remains in the yellow, has had 400 cases total since March and 100 of those within the last 10 days. 
 
Nov. 16: The county saw another uptick with 45 cases reported on Monday for a total now of 1,072. The state saw another 1,967 new cases and a dozen deaths. 
 
Nov. 15: The number of new cases dropped to six although statewide the number was 2,076. The number of deaths was 33 statewide for a total now of 10,098. Nationwide, the number of total infections has passed 11 million and deaths 246,000.
 
Nov. 14: There were 20 new cases reported in Berkshire County and 2,841 statewide for a seven-day average positive test rate of 3.07. There were also 27 deaths but the county's toll continues at 52. 
 
More than 700 people are hospitalized, including three at BMC.
 
The largest concentration of infections of infections is the 20-29 age group, followed closely by children and 30-39-year-olds. The greatest at-risk population continues to be those who are older with the average hospitalization age of 67 and death of 80.
 
 
Nov. 13: The total number of cases in Berkshire County broke 1,000 on Friday, with 19 new cases bringing the total to 1,001. The state saw 2,674 new cases for a total of 177,627 and a seven-day average positive test rate of now more than 3 percent. There were 23 deaths and nearly 700 people hospitalized.
 
North Adams announced that Drury High School would go to fully remote learning after another case was confirmed, following Pittsfield's steps earlier in the week shifting both its high schools to remote. 
 
Pittsfield, which had been at the red level on Thursday, was shifted down to yellow. But statewide, officials are bracing for more cases with the setup of a field hospital again at the DCU Center in Worcester. All the field hospitals had been closed in June. Berkshire Medical Center currently has three patients and has had six in the past two weeks. Both BMC and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center have reinstituted restrictions on visitations. 
 
Nov. 12: Pittsfield is pulling back on school and indoor activities after cases surged over the past few weeks. All schools have moved to remote learning and table service in the county's biggest municipality has been suspended. 
 
The city's transmission level has gone to red, meaning it has a positive test rate above 5 percent and an average of more than 10 cases per 100,000. This is the highest level in the four-color chart. Because of backlog in testing, the city's active cases shot from 87 to 191 in one day, as of Nov. 10.
 
Pittsfield officials are blaming a number of parties held over Halloween and recent weeks, including at certain establishments, for the spread. 
 
North Adams has remained in the lowest category with eight new cases in the past two weeks for a total of 75 to date. The county logged 159 new cases in the past two weeks. 
 
Overall, the county saw another uptick of 29 cases reported but no further deaths. That number has been at 52 since Oct. 27. The number of deaths statewide for confirmed cases passed 10,000; another 220 deaths are considered probable COVID-19 cases but are not included in the running total. The seven-day average positive test rate is now 2.90. 
 
 
 
 
 
Nov. 11: Cases took another startling spike in Berkshire County with 50 positive cases reported — nearly 100 in just two days. Statewide the number was 2,495 and the seven-day average positive test is now 2.88. 
 
Cases of the novel coronavirus are spiking across the country, particularly in the West and Midwest, but the numbers in New England are also concerning. More than 600 people are now hospitalized and the deaths statewide are closing in on 1,000. 
 
Nationwide, there have been more than 10.3 million cases and more than 240,000 deaths. Globally, 1.3 million have died from the pandemic.
 
The number of states considered "low risk" and declined considerably. Massachusetts still considers Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, the state of Washington and Hawaii as low risk; anyone coming from other states requires a quarantine period or negative test. Vermont, however, has a quarantine advisory for anyone coming into the state. 
 
 
The website CovidExitStrategy.org, run by a group of public health and infectious disease experts, has been tracking the spread of COVID-19 and now puts all but three states in the "uncontrolled spread category." Massachusetts is labeled "uncontrolled" and Vermont as "caution warranted."
 
 
 
Nov. 10: Cases in Berkshire County jumped by 42 on Thursday, the largest in a single day since April. The day also saw the report of case of COVID-19 at Drury High School, the second in the school system. 
 
The number of cases reported statewide was again over 2,000 and the seven-day positive average rate is at 2.63 percent, more than three times that during the summer. State officials say they are prepared for a surge in hospitalizations and PPE going into winter.
 
The number of hospitalizations is now more than 600. BMC currently has three patients on COVID-19 precautions and 10 awaiting tests. 
 
Below, Pittsfield's COVID-19 average rate takes takes a steep rise since Oct. 1.
 
Nov. 9: The county saw 16 more cases reported on Monday, and 72 cases total since the first of the month. The bulk of those are coming from Pittsfield, which reported on Sunday 40 new cases Nov. 1, or 97 percent of cases between Nov. 1 and Nov. 8.
 
The number of cases nationwide passed the 10 million mark and the number of deaths, 237,000. Deaths statewide continue to creep up but not, thankfully, in proportion to new cases. There were 13 deaths reported on Monday and 1,184 new cases for a total of 167,929. The highest rates of transmission are in those ages 39 and younger while the average hospitalization age is 67 and deaths, 80. 
 
Nov. 7 & 8: The number cases continued to rise over the weekend, with 2,200 reported Saturday and 1,809 Sunday. The Berkshires' numbers also continue to rise with nine Saturday and seven Sunday morning for a total of 845.
 
The seven-day average positive rate has been 2.27 for two days in a row and 500 or more people are currently hospitalized.
 
Nov. 6: The number of new cases broke 2,000 for the first time in months and Pittsfield health officials warned of spike in cases in the county's largest community. The city has seen 46 new cases in just the last two weeks, making up the bulk of new cases countywide. 
 
The total number of new cases was 2,038 for a total to date of 162,736 and the number of deaths, 21, for a total of 9,880 statewide. The Berkshires added another 11 cases for a total of 829. The statewide seven-day average test rate is 2.11, a new high. Nationally, the total number of cases is now 9,685,815, up 141,500 since yesterday, and deaths are now at 235,601.
 
The average daily incident rate for Massachusetts is 15.3 per 100,000; it's 4.7 in Pittsfield, 3.3 in North Adams and 0.9 in Adams, the three largest communities. In comparison, the rate in Lawrence is 62.4 and Norfolk is 48.
 
New orders issued on Monday by the governor went into effect Friday morning that call for closing businesses by 9:30, a stay-at-home advisory between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., and limiting indoor social gatherings to 10 and outside to 25.
 
The goal of these rules is to reduce incidents of social gatherings that are being pointed to as the main cause of the rise in cases. People are spending time together without masks or social distancing, particularly younger people who are the vast majority of the new cases. 
 
The Department of Public Health on Friday also released a new set of category levels for transmission that relies on positivity rates as well as incident numbers, depending on the population. The sea of red that's been on the community tracing map is expected to be lessened — once it's updated — and it should help small towns from being pushed into a high transmission rate status because of a couple cases.
 
The state's interactive map showing cases and levels according to the older chart went inactive on Nov. 5.
 
Nov. 5: The state again reported a new high in cases at 1,761, bringing total cases to more than 160,000. The seven-day positive test rate average jumped to 1.91 percent, or about 823 cases per 100,000 people. Berkshire County had 64 new cases and 69 total positive tests in the last two weeks. 
 
Nearly 500 people statewide are hospitalized and 108,000 recommended to isolate. 
 
The community statistics were not ready on Thursday and are expected to be released on Friday.
 
Nov. 4: The state reported 1,629 new cases on Wednesday, a new high since May. There were 27 deaths for a total of 9,836. The Berkshires saw six new cases. 
 
Nov. 3: Berkshire County added five more new cases on Tuesday and the state, 923.There were 12 deaths reported, with an average age of 81. There are fewer than 500 hospitalizations. 
 
Nov. 2: The public health dashboard was changed on Nov. 2 and apparently no longer posts the number of total individuals tested to date. On Nov. 1, that was 2,758,047. We are switching out that row for seven-day positive test rate average. 
 
The Berkshires reported its largest number of positive cases in months on Monday with 14 new cases. The number of new cases total statewide was 725. The new dashboard reports the average age of deaths (81) and the average age of hospitalizations (67).
 
The breakdown in cases by age over the past two weeks show the highest rates of transmission are from 0 to 39 years of age with a total of 7,760 cases, with age 19 and younger being the highest with 2,701. The lowest is age 70 years and older at just over 1,000. 
 
The rising number of cases, particularly in younger age groups, has prompted the governor to issue orders limiting gatherings, mandating mask usage, closing certain businesses and activities by 9:30 p.m. and setting a stay-at-home order to discourage public and private gatherings that are allowing COVID-19 to spread. 
 
Nov. 1: Nearly 100,000 new cases were reported nationwide and more than 1,100 in Massachusetts. Berkshire County reported five for a total of 789. Much of southeastern and and northeastern Massachusetts, and Boston and its environs, are in the red zone. The exceptions are the eastern part of Cape Cod and swatch of communities in the northeast that remain in the gray. 
 
All of Berkshire County, with the exception of "green" Pittsfield, is also in the gray as of Oct. 29. 
 
Oct. 30 & 31: The state recorded 2,780 positive cases over two days and 39 deaths. Nationally, there are now more than 9 million COVID-19 cases and more than 230,000 deaths. 
 
The seven-day positive rate average is now 1.9 percent and the hospitalizations remain close to 600, with more than 100 in ICUs. There is still one patient at BMC. 
 
Oct. 29: The state recorded 27 deaths and 1,243 new positive cases on Thursday. The seven-day positive average rate remains at 1.8 and there are 560 people hospitalized. Berkshire County had one case and on hospitalization.
 
The county has had 34 positive cases reported in the last 14 days for a daily incident rate of 1.9. All 13 counties registered higher rates except for Hampshire, which remained the same as last week. 
 
 
Oct. 28: The county reported six more positive cases bringing the total to 780 and the state, again, recorded more than 1,000 new cases bringing its total past 150,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. The seven-day positive rate average is at 1.8 percent, up a 129 percent since its lowest point in September. Nearly 600 people are now hospitalized and the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths is at 9,700. 
 
Vermont is now requiring travelers from Massachusetts and many areas of New York state to isolate for 14 days. Connecticut has added the Bay State to its advisory list and requires traveler to fill out a form and provide proof of a negative COVID-19 or isolate for 14 days. 
 
Oct. 27: The Berkshires has recorded another death, the first since Oct. 5, bringing the total to 52. The county has also seen another high in the number of positive cases reported at nine, with 32 cases of COVID-19 in the past week. Pittsfield has now had 13 cases between Friday and Monday. Mayor Linda Tyer said the city had been averaging less than five new cases in a two-week period. The age range for Pittsfield's weekend cases was between 16 and 78. 
 
The seven-day average positive rate is 1.7 percent and Tuesday was the fifth day of having more than 1,000 cases reported. New York is advising its residents not to travel to Massachusetts. 
 
Public health officials on Tuesday said many of the newer cases are the result of people gathering socially or at sports without following protocols. Gov. Baker on Tuesday urged people to mask up and social distance. The state also issued guidance on Thanksgiving. 
 
Oct. 26: The number of cases statewide rose to 1,216 on Monday as a dozen communities were told to pull back to Step 1 of the Phase III reopening. The seven-day average has risen to 1.6 percent, more than twice the lowest average two months ago, and some 550 people are reported hospitalized, including one patient at BMC. 
 
More than 60 communities, or nearly 20 percent of the state's 321 cities and towns, are coded in the red for having greater than eight cases per 100,000 people. Pittsfield is in the green, the second lowest level of transmission, and the nearest community in the red zone is Buckland, which was raised to that level last week.
 
The closest municipality to the Berkshires pushed back to Step 1 is Holyoke; also added to the list are Acushnet, Brockton, Chelmsford, Hudson, Kingston, Leicester, Malden, Plymouth, Randolph, Waltham, Webster and Woburn. There are now 39 total at Step 1, including Boston. 
 
 
Oct. 24 & 25: The state has seen two days of 1,000-plus positive cases and 32 deaths. Berkshire County has seen its case number jump by 14, 10 of those cases on Sunday. 
 
The seven-day average positive rate is 1.5 percent and more than 500 people remain hospitalized. 
 
Oct. 23: 968 new cases were reported statewide and 19 deaths. The seven-day average positive rate is at 1.4 percent and the number of hospitalizations remains above 500. The Berkshires had three new cases. 
 
Oct. 21 & 22: Pittsfield has moved into the green level for recording five positive cases in the last two weeks. The rest of the county remains in the gray, with North Adams reporting two cases for a total of 65 since March. 
 
The state reported 986 new cases on Thursday, the highest daily number since May. More than 500 remain hospitalized and 100 are in ICUs statewide. The state's weekly report, now coming out on Thursdays, shows splashes of red over the eastern and central parts of the Bay State. Boston had ordered its schools to revert to remote learning and Salem has canceled Halloween. 
 
"I think the most of the guidance that I hear from the public health folks around here ... is that the fall is going to be a lot more difficult than the summer for all the obvious reasons," Gov. Baker said on Wednesday. "I do believe we are in a much better position to deal with this issue now, because we are doing so much more testing and tracing, because we aren't worrying about PPE, and because our long-term care communities are in much better shape."
 
 
Oct. 20: Positive cases remain high with more than 800 reported on Tuesday and more than 500 hospitalizations statewide. Berkshire County reported two more cases and no deaths; there were five deaths reported statewide. 
 
There are now 10 states considered as "low risk" and not requiring a two-week quarantine: California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and the state of Washington. Note that Rhode Island is not one of those states with a seven-day average positive test rate below 5 percent and daily cases less than 10 per 100,000. 
 
Oct. 19: The Berkshires saw four more positive cases reported Monday but no hospitalizations. Statewide cases were up more than 800 and hospitalizations remain at about 500. The seven-day average for positive cases is 1.2 percent, up from a low of 0.8 percent on Sept. 23. 
 
Oct. 18: The number of total state cases has passed 140,000 and more than 2.5 million Bay State residents have been tested for COVID-19. Berkshire County numbers are unchanged. 
 
Oct. 17: The state recorded 550 new cases and 21 deaths. Berkshire County had one new case. The number of deaths nationwide passed 219,000.
 
Oct. 16: The number of positive COVID-19 cases in the county passed 8 million and the number of deaths stands at more than 218,000. The Berkshires reported no change in numbers but the state overall saw 700 new cases (more than double what had been recorded in August) and 30 deaths. 
 
The seven-day positive rate average has crept up to 1.4 percent, and 82 percent increase over its lowest value and more than 500 people are hospitalized, including 33 on ventilators. 
 
 
Oct. 15: The seven-day positive and three-day hospitalization averages are up 70 percent and 67 percent, respectively, from their most recent lows. In contrast, the Berkshires continues to be in the lowest levels of transmission, with two new cases reported on Thursday, no hospitalizations, and no deaths since Oct. 4. A positive case in the North Adams Public Schools has not spread and the everyone in contact with the case are cleared to return on Monday, Oct. 19. 
 
Oct. 14: the state's seven-day positive has crept up to 1.2 percent after more than a month at 1 or less. Gov. Baker has blamed the rising number of cases on younger people who are not sticking to social distancing rules. He also on Wednesday turned a question about the state's high per capita death rate to discussion of how the various states should be formulating standards for reporting deaths. 
 
The state death rate for COVID-19 has seemed low — fewer than 20 a day for several months compared to positive cases in the hundreds. 
 
The Boston Globe reported Wednesday that the rate of 5.69 per 100,000 people is six times that of New York State at 0.96, and higher than all of the other New England, New York and New Jersey combined.
 
"Different states do different things with respect to how they test for COVID and comorbidities with respect to how they write those death certificates," the governor said. "There's a lot of variability here. And I think, as an academic exercise, we are going to take seriously the idea of maybe trying to find somebody to do a study on this, not just for today, but for reporting on issues like this going forward."
 
The rising number of cases can be seen in this week's public health map that shows far more red — the highest levels of transmission — than the past few weeks. Berkshire County and much of Western Mass is in the gray zone, the lowest level. The college town of Amherst, and Holyoke, Springfield, East Longmeadow and Sunderland are all in the red.
 
 
Oct. 13: Berkshire County added two more cases total and the state, 632. More than 215,000 Americans have now died because of the novel coronavirus and more than 7.8 million have been infected.
 
The administration has announced a $171 million in investment to aid landlords and tenants as the moratorium on evictions expires Saturday.
 
Oct 9-12: The number of positive cases reported daily has climbed to levels not seen since late May and early June. There was just under 2,000 cases reported between Friday and Monday, with 765 on Monday morning. The number of deaths, however, remains relatively low at 48 since Friday. The three-day average of patients is now over 500 although there are no patients in Berkshire County. The county's death and case count has not changed since Saturday morning.
 
Oct. 8: Cases and hospitalizations continue to remain in higher numbers, with more than 480 patients statewide. The seven-day positive case average, however, is still about 1 percent. There is one non-ICU patient at BMC. 
 
The North Adams Public Schools reported its first case of COVID-19; the classroom where the individual had been was cleaned and those in proximity were contacted, according to school officials. 
 
Oct. 7: The Mount Greylock Regional School District will not have to revert to all remote as the state's latest figures shows that all of Berkshire County is now in the gray, or lowest, level of COVID-19 cases. Williamstown had been twice in the yellow in the past two weeks and, at week three in yellow, would have had to transition to all remote. 
 
Hospitalizations have continued to increase, with more than 500 statewide, but the seven-day average of positive cases continues at 1.1 percent.
 
Oct. 6: Local numbers have not changed since yesterday. The hospitalizations remain at more than 400 with one patient in the ICU at BMC. The seven-day average positive test rate is 1.1 percent, which it has been at for about a week. 
 
Oct. 5: Berkshire County has had another death, bringing the total to date to 51. This is the fifth death since Sept. 13, just over three weeks. Prior to that, there had not been a death in more than five weeks. 
 
The number of recorded positive cases has also continued to climb with 465 reported on Monday. The number of hospitalizations statewide has been more than 400 daily for more than a week and in the high 300s for nearly two weeks before that. The seven-day  positive case rate has is 1.1 percent.
 
Oct. 3 & 4: The registered more than 1,200 new cases over two days, passing the 130,000 mark, and 20 deaths. The Berkshires recorded five new cases. 
 
Oct. 2: The number of new cases was 753 on Friday and the seven-day average is now at 1.1 percent. Berkshire County recorded two new cases. There were 10 deaths statewide. 

Oct. 1: The number of new cases has continued to increase with 708 —the highest in months — reported on Thursday. The seven-day average is now more than 1 percent, significant rise after more than a month below a percentage point. 
 
The total number of positive cases in the state passed 130,000 and more than 2.2 million people have been tested. In the Berkshires, the number of deaths and cases has not changed. 
 
Sept. 30: The number of deaths statewide jumped to 32, the highest single count in some time. Hospitalizations remain high as well, at more than 400, and six hospitals are using surge capacity. Berkshires' numbers remain low but Williamstown is at the yellow level for the second week in a row. Pittsfield is now at green after being in the gray for two weeks. The total number of cases in Williamstown is 96, with five in the past two weeks for a average daily incidence of 4.8. Pittsfield has a total of 232, also with five in the past two weeks and an average daily incidence of 0.8.
 
 
 
Sept. 29: The number of people who have died from complications of COVID-19 has passed the 1 million mark. Eight more deaths have been recorded in Massachusetts for a total of 9,210 and the number of positive cases is 129,243 total. The numbers have continued to tick up with more than 440 hospitalized and a seven-day average of just now 1 percent. There were four new cases in the Berkshires but no hospitalizations.
 
The cases tend to be clustered in certain areas and the governor is allowing those communities with low transmission rates, like in the Berkshires, to enter Step 2 of Phase III. This allows for occupancy rates of 50 percent indoors and out, the opening of some indoor recreational facilities and the opening of all retail fitting rooms. 
 
Sept. 28: Berkshire County recorded its fourth death in just over two weeks after having two deaths in a two-month period over the summer. Two more positive cases were also reported, bringing the total number since early March to 713. There are two patients at BMC as the number of hospitalizations statewide continues to rise at more than 400. The average hospitalizations had been in the low 300s in late August. The seven-day average of positive cases remains below 1 percent. 
 
Williams College reports one positive case, an employee or faculty, in the last seven days for a total of four since testing began Aug. 17. MCLA also reports another positive test, also bringing its count to four.
 
Sept. 27: The number of cases and hospitalizations statewide continues to rise with 594 positive test results reported today and 408 people hospitalized. Berkshire County reported four new cases and there are two patients at BMC. The number of deaths is now 9,191 for Massachusetts and more than 204,000 nationwide.
 
Sept. 26: The numbers in Berkshire County have not changed. The state reported 515 confirmed positive tests. The seven-day average has stayed under 1 percent but ticked up from 0.8 to 0.9. Hospitalizations statewide are also higher than the beginning of the month with 354 at present. 
 
Sept. 25: The total number of positive cases passed the 7 million mark and the number of dead nationwide is more than 203,000. Two more cases were added in Berkshire County and 454 statewide. There 10 deaths reported in Massachusetts. 
 
Attorney General Maura Healey announced that the superintendent and medical Director of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home are being charged with neglect and bodily harm related to five patients at the nursing home. She said investigations are ongoing at other long-term facilities. 
 
Sept. 24: The state reported 15 deaths and 455 new cases statewide. Berkshire County's count dropped by one. The number of hospitalizations remain high at 375, with 29 people intubated. There are no patients at BMC. Both Williams College and MCLA remain at three cases each. 
 
Sept. 23: Gov. Baker announced Phase III modifications for restaurants starting Monday, Sept. 28. Eateries will be able to seat parties of up to 10 and restaurant bar seating will be permitted with social distancing protections in place. "No standing around the bar," Baker admonished at press conference at which the changes were announced. 
 
Free COVID-19 testing was also extended to Oct. 31 in 18 high priority that includes Holyoke and Springfield. 
 
The number of deaths statewide was reported at 17 and the number of new cases 532. Statewide hospitalizations remain in the mid-300s but there are no patients in Berkshire County. 
 
Two communities — Great Barrington and Williamstown — have shifted to yellow on the state's daily incidence rate for having between four and eight positive cases. Williamstown had six positives (presumably from the outbreak at Pine Cobble School) over the past two weeks and Great Barrington, eight.
 
 
 
Sept. 22: The number of deaths related to COVID-19 passed the 200,000 mark nationwide. The toll in Massachusetts was 11, for a total of 9,118 to date. There were two more positive cases reported in Berkshire County but no hospitalizations. The CDC released its guidance for Halloween and towns are expected to make decisions regarding the holiday in the next few weeks.
 
Sept. 21: Berkshire County has added one new case and the state, 244. There were seven reported deaths. The seven-day average remains at 0.8.
 
Sept. 20: The number of cases in Berkshire County has not changed and BMC no longer has a patient. The state reported 15 new deaths for a total to date of 9,100.
 
Sept. 19: The state report has reduced the total number of Berkshire County cases by one, bringing it down to 701. There is one patient at BMC and the number of hospitalizations statewide has increased to that of late August (more than 360) after trending downward for several weeks. The seven-day average of positive cases remains at 0.8 percent but 569 new cases were recorded out of more than 21,000 tests. 
 
Sept. 18: The number of cases in Berkshire County jumped by 10 on Friday, the largest spike since a one-day increase of 23 on June 1. One student at Berkshire Community College reportedly tested positive on Wednesday, Sept. 16. There has been one more death: the total number increased to 49 on Thursday even though no single death was reported. The number on Friday was still 49. The number of hospitalizations has also crept up with the three-day average at 356 and five hospitals using surge capacity. There are 338 patients with  62 in ICU and 25 who are intubated. There are no patients in Berkshire County. 
 
Sept. 17: The number of total individuals tested statewide passed 2 million on Wednesday and the number of deaths totaled 9,051. The seven-day average remained below 1 percent but the number of new cases was 419. Gov. Baker on Thursday urged citizens to get a flu shot as a way to support health-care workers. 
 
Sept. 16: The county has reported its second death in four days after weeks of registering no fatalities from the novel coronavirus. The death toll is now 48 and the number of total cases 690 with the addition of three new cases. There have been no new cases at the local colleges and The number of deaths statewide is reported at 9,036. In good news, all of Berkshire County is now in the gray; both the cities had been green and Williamstown had been in the yellow last week.
 
Sept. 15: The number of total COVID-19 cases in Berkshire County continue to increase by two or three a day and currently stands at 687. This is not the number of active cases but rather the number of positives since March. There are no hospitalizations in Berkshire County. Berkshire Healthcare reports two employees testing positive as of Sept. 13 but no residents. The number of deaths statewide is reported as six. 
 
Sept. 14: The state reported nine new deaths. More than 3 million tests have been completed and the number of positives since March is 123,139. The seven-day average of positives tests remains under 1 percent. There were no changes in the colleges' positive numbers but Pine Cobble School opted to return to remote for two weeks after a teacher tested positive.
 
Sept. 13: The county reported its first death from COVID since July 30, bringing the total to date to 47. The state's number of deaths passed 9,000, with 14 reported deaths, bringing its total 9,001. The total number of deaths nationwide is 194,021.
 
 
 
Sept. 11 & 12: The county has had four more new cases over the past two days, including one each at the two North County colleges. Williams has completed 8,327 tests and had three positives, one in the last 24 hours. MCLA has completed 728 tests total and had two positives. Both colleges are set up to isolate students who test positive. 
 
There have been 30 deaths over two days and 878 new cases. The seven-day average continues under 1 percent although hospitalizations have ticked up slightly. There are no patients in Berkshire County. 
 
Sept. 10: The state has moved Williamstown up from gray to yellow, or moderate risk, based on five positive cases; however, the town is refuting that, saying it's case count is one. For more see our story here. North Adams and Pittsfield remain as green, or low risk, and the number of total cases since March for the entire county is 676, with 12 cases reported since Sept. 1. The state reported 20 deaths and 363 confirmed new cases. The seven-day average has been less than 1 percent since Sept. 1. Both Williams College and MCLA have reported two cases each since testing began. 
 
Sept. 9: The U.S. COVID-19 death rate passed 190,000 on Wednesday and 6.35 million positive cases. Massachusetts saw four deaths and 182 new cases, although total testing is still down at more than 11,000. The Berkshires had four new cases and BMC reports one hospitalization. North Adams has had five new cases in the past two weeks and Pittsfield nine.
 
Sept. 8: The number of tests reported was still about half that of a normal day, with less than 10,000 completed, and the number of new cases also low at 168. The number of deaths was eight; Berkshire County's numbers remained the same. The number of hospitalizations across the state has not significantly changed since about mid-August. As of Tuesday morning, there were 328 patients, of which 47 were in ICUs and 24 were intubated. 
 
To date, more women than men have died (46 percent/54 percent) and 98 percent of those who died had at least one underlying condition that made them more susceptible to the virus. "Underlying condition" is a broad term covering a range of chronic health conditions; about 60 percent of all Americans have at least one chronic condition and more than 78 percent of all Americans age 55 and older.  
 
Sept. 7: The numbers reported to the state were low, with only about half as many tests results completed, likely because of the Labor Day holiday. There were eight deaths reported statewide; Berkshire County has not had a death since July 30.
 
Sept. 6: There were 10 new deaths and 370 new positive cases. The Berkshires saw its confirmed numbers drop by 2 and hospitalizations go back to zero. 
 
Sept. 4 & 5: The state reported 22 deaths on Friday and 15 on Saturday for a total of 8,907 to date. The seven-day average for positive cases remains low although Pittsfield has seen a slight uptick over the past two weeks. The number of total positive cases statewide how exceeds 120,000. BMC has one patient hospitalized with COVID-19; Williams College has completed more than 4,800 tests with one positive result.
 
Sept. 3: There were 17 deaths reported statewide; the seven-day positive average remains low at about 1 percent. There is one patient at BMC and about 300 more hospitalizations across the state. Williams College has completed 3,810 tests to date with one positive. MCLA has completed 547 tests with a positive rate of 0.58 percent, or three; by comparison North Adams is 0.70 percent and Pittsfield 0.77.
 
Sept. 2: The state reported 22 deaths and 288 new cases, but none in Berkshire County. BMC is reporting two cases in the hospital, neither of which is in ICU. The state report is also using updated guidelines on reporting per CDC that more narrowly define "probable" case criteria. These new definitions do not appear to have significantly changed the state's data but has created a "probable" category not reportable to the CDC.
 
Sept. 1: The state reported four deaths and a seven-day positive test rate average that continues at 1 percent. The number of new cases in the county is three and the number of hospitalizations at BMC is now one. Out of 2,576 tests given at Williams College to date, there has been only one positive. 
 
 
Aug. 31: The number of total positive cases of COVID-19 has passed 6 million in the United States and deaths more than 183,000. The Berkshires' numbers remain low at 662 since March and 46 deaths — a number that has not changed in more than a month. Mass MoCA reported its first possible case — two tests proved inconclusive —but follow up through contact tracing has found no spread. MCLA began welcoming a much reduced student body that will be tested weekly through September. However, there are three cases (none in ICU) at Berkshire Medical Center, the first hospitalizations in several weeks.
 
Aug. 30: The seven-day average on positive tests has dropped below 1 percent. One new positive case has been reported in Berkshire County and Williams College has reported its first positive case. There were 13 deaths reported statewide and 174 positive cases out of about 16,500 tests.
 
Aug. 29: The state reported a dozen new deaths and 421 positive cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases in the Berkshires is now 660 with five new cases reported. 
 
Aug. 28: There were 16 deaths reported and the average number of hospitalizations remains in the low 300s. There was a spike in the percent of positive tests on Thursday at 3.5 but the seven-day average remains at about 1 percent. There were 438 new positive cases out of 23,716 tests.
 
Aug. 27: The state reported 20 deaths; the number of positives cases was more than 300 but the volume of tests has increased dramatically, to more than 20,000 on a regular basis. This has brought the seven-day average to about 1 percent. The Williams College dashboard reports no cases since testing on campus began last week. More than 2,000 tests have been completed by the college
 
Aug. 26: The seven-day average continues at about 1.1 percent; the number of deaths was 26 statewide and crossed the 180,000 mark nationwide. . 
 
Aug. 25: The number of positives was 349, higher than it has been, but the number of deaths was 12. Berkshire County's positive numbers have been creeping up — about 20 just over the past week or so — after being adjusted downward at the beginning of the month. The seven-day average for the state remains low at 1.1 percent and more than 1.6 million residents have been tested to date and more than 2.2 million tests have been administered. 
 
Aug. 24: Report includes weekend numbers: Berkshire County increases positive cases by eight, the state up 571. Twenty-seven deaths were reported over the weekend. The seven-day averages hovers around 1.1 percent and hospitalizations have taken a dip over the past week after averaging in the high 300s since early July, with 308 hospitalizations (none in the Berkshires.)
 
Aug. 23: No dashboard report because the DPH data portal is being transitioned to the cloud. Saturday's report will be included with Sunday's on Monday morning. 
 
Aug. 22: There were 109 positive cases out of 8,301 tests reported Saturday and 20 deaths. The seven-day average has dropped to 1.1 percent. 
 
Aug. 21: There were 13 new deaths reported and an uptick in cases at 431, but there was also an increase in tests at more than 26,000. 
 
Aug. 20: The state recorded 12 deaths and 262 new cases. So far, more than 1.5 million Massachusetts residents have been tested for COVID-19.
 
Aug. 19: The state dashboard provided numbers per county, with Berkshire County going up by six new cases over the past week to 632. There were 28 deaths reported statewide, none in the county. The state Department of Public Health published new requirements on Wednesday mandating flu vaccines by December for students and children in day care. The vaccine is necessary to start school or day care in January 2021.
 
Aug. 18: There were six deaths reported today and 175 cases. 
 
Aug. 17: Four new deaths were reported and 213 new cases in the state. The death toll nationally has passed 170,000.
 
Aug. 16: Eleven new deaths were reported and the seven-day positive rate remains at 1.4 percent. There have been more than 114,000 confirmed cases and 372 are currently hospitalized outside of Berkshire County.
 
Aug. 15: The state reported 14 new deaths and 366 new positive cases. Almost 23,000 tests were done on Friday. The percentage of positive cases continues to drop, and was calculated as 1.4 percent for Friday. Hospitalizations remain flat and Berkshire Health Systems reports no hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
 
Aug. 12: The state reported 18 new deaths and 229 new cases. The new reporting dashboard instituted today no longer provides daily numbers for counties; this will now be once a week. 
 
One significant improvement is an update on the six criteria for the reopening plans for the first time since they were implemented on June 5: Contact tracing capabilities was upgraded from "in progress" to "positive trend." It joins testing capicity, COVID-19 positive test rate and number of hospitalized. Still considered in progress are deaths and health-care system readiness. 
 
The seven-day average for positive tests has also taken a nosedive after drifting into the 2-2.2 percent more than a week ago. On Wednesday, the rate had dropped to 1.5 percent; the number of tests was more than 15,000.
 
Aug. 11: The state instituted a new mapping system to designate municipal hotspots with metrics based on the numbers per 100,000 population. The designates run from white (less than 5 cases total) to red (more than 8 cases). These metrics were also provided to school districts for use in determining reopening options. 
 
Berkshire County is white with the exception of Pittsfield, which has less than 4 cases per 100,000 and is set for green. 
 
The number of deaths statewide was 10 and the number of new positive cases, 296. The number of positives in Berkshire County was reduced by one, with no explanation.
 
Aug. 10: After a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in late July and last week, the numbers appear to be declining again. The seven-day average has dipped below 2 percent (1.8 percent) and the number of positive cases was recorded is 214. There tends to be a delay in reporting over the weekend so this may change. The number of deaths was five and, for the first time, no hospital reported using surge capacity. The three-day average for hospitalizations has remained flat since July 24.
 
Aug. 9: The seven-day average of positive cases has remained below 2  percent for the third consecutive day; the number new cases was 286 and the number of deaths was 14. The number of positive cases in the United States passed 5 million. 
 
Aug. 8: A dozen deaths were reported bringing the number to date to 8,500. While deaths remain low and hospitalizations fairly flat, the number of active cases remains higher than it had been in July. The seven-day average, however, has dropped over the last couple days to 1.8-1.9 percent. 
 
Aug. 7: The number of deaths nationally passed 160,000 on Friday; the state reported 18 new deaths and a slightly lowered seven-day average in new cases. The increase in new cases over the past couple weeks, and reports of flagrant violations of pandemic protocols that include a wedding reception attended by 300 in Gardner, lead the governor to halt the next step in the state's reopening.
 
Outdoor gatherings have been scaled back from 100 to 50 and venues, private parties and bars trying to get around the protocols were put on notice that local enforcement could now impose fines. The state of Rhode Island this week was also removed from the states that did not require a two-week isolation, although those who travel regularly for work and education or transitory needs are exempt.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aug. 6: There were 32 deaths reported today. There was a significant drop in positives — 162 reported — but it is not clear why.
 
Aug. 5: The state recorded only two deaths but the number of positive cases continues average more than 300. The seven-day average is again at 2.2 percent but hospitalizations have been fairly static since July 24, about the time positive cases began to rise.
 
Aug. 4: The state reported nine deaths and 438 new cases; the seven-day average of positive cases is now at 2.2 percent. 
 
Aug. 3: The number of positive cases slipped below 200 on Monday, but this may be because of delays reporting over the weekend. The number of deaths was 10. The seven-day average for positive cases has been recalculated to 2 percent over the weekend after two delayed "dumps" of positive cases reported last week by larger health facilities; those cases were apportioned back to the days they should have been reported. 
 
Aug. 2: The seven-day average of positive cases has ticked up to 2.2 percent after spending most of July below 2 percent. The number of deaths reported was 11. 
 
Aug. 1: The number of deaths was reported as 17; the seven-day average of positive cases remains at 2.1 percent.
 
July 31: The seven-day average for positive cases has inched up to 21 percent. Gov. Baker on Friday blamed a number of breakouts caused by large gatherings and failure to abide by pandemic protocols. While he said commercial enterprises and residents by and large had been keeping to masking and social distancing, he did not rule having to pause the reopening if the numbers failed to improve. 
 
The number of deaths was 14 but the positives reported was 387, which the governor said was because of a large hospital group delaying reporting. 
 
July 30: Berkshire County recorded its first death since July 3, bringing the total to 46. There have been only three deaths since June 19. The total number of deaths reported today is 15; the seven-day positive test rate remains at 2 percent. 
 
July 29: The number of deaths nationwide passed 150,000; in Massachusetts, 29 more deaths recorded to bring the count to 8,360. The number of positive cases in the Bay State continue to creep up with 356 confirmed and the seven day average now stands at 2 percent, after holding at 1.8-1.9 since July 8. Hospitalizations and deaths have been holding steady. 
 
July 28: Fourteen deaths were reported and, for the first time in several days, the number of new confirmed cases dropped below 200. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed cases in the United States is now 4.3 million, the highest in the world, and eight U.S. states are in the top 15 regions for COVID-19. Massachusetts ranks 22nd, behind California (2), Florida (3), New York (4), Texas (5), New Jersey (12), Illinois (13), Georgia (14) and Arizona (15). The top region is Sao Paulo, Brazil, with 487,654 confirmed cases. Of recorded deaths worldwide, 22 percent have so far been in the United States. 
 
July 27: Seven deaths were reported on Monday and the number of hospitals using surge capacity dropped to zero after rising to seven just four days ago. The seven-day positive test rate stayed at 1.9 percent and the governor expanded testing to eight communities where an increase in COVID-19 has been identified, including Springfield and Agawam. BayState Health reported a hotspot of 36 cases after an employee returned from a hotspot and didn't properly mask. 
 
July 26: 19 deaths were reported. The seven-day average in positive tests continues to tick up with 273 new cases. The test rate is now 1.9 percent, where it was at the beginning of the month.
 
July 25: There were 12 deaths reported. New cases was again more than 200 and the seven-day average has ticked up to 1.8 percent.
 
July 24: There were 14 deaths reported and more than 200 new cases. The Berkshires' count jumped by seven to 636 after weeks of increasing by ones or twos. The six health criteria have not changed and continue to be "positive trend" or in progress to a positive trend. The islands have the  lowest rates per 100,000, followed by Berkshire, Barnstable and Franklin and Hampshire counties.
 
July 23: The number of was reported at 16 but  the state saw an uptick in positive cases at 270. The number of COVID-19 overall passed 4 million nationwide.
 
July 22: The number of cases in Berkshire County continue to tick up in ones and twos, with a count of 626 to date. However, there has not been a death in the county since July 3. The state reported 18 deaths statewide.
 
July 21: The rate of reported deaths continues on the decline with 17 on Tuesday. The three-day average is down 94 percent since April. New cases reported were 165, in line with the last couple of weeks of  fewer than 200. The seven-day average test rate remains at 1.7 percent; Berkshire County has the lowest rates per 100,000 population. BMC has one patient, who is not in ICU.
 
July 20: The state reported one death. 
 
July 19: The state reported 12 deaths.
 
July 18: 17 new deaths were reported today; the number hospitals using surge capacity has been five or six over the past few days, up from 2 around the July 4 holiday.
 
July 17: The state passed the 1 million mark in residents tested for COVID-19; 21 deaths were reported. The three-day average of hospitalizations has continued to drop and the seven-day average test rate has remained at 1.7 percent. 
 
July 16: The state reported 11 deaths today.
 
July 15: 27 deaths were reported today; the Berkshires remains unchanged for the third consecutive day with 615 cases and the 13th consecutive day with no deaths. The tally of Berkshire deaths remains at 45.
 
July 14: 10 deaths were reported today. 
 
July 13: The state reported only five deaths today and 154 new cases. 
 
July 12: There were 15 new deaths and 172 confirmed cases. The number hospitals using surge capacity had dropped to two and the three-day average of hospitalizations is 596. There are no patients at BMC and no patients awaiting tests.
 
July 11: The state reported 14 new deaths.
 
July 10: The state reported 28 new deaths. The positive test rate continues at a downward trend, at 1.6 percent on Saturday, but the number of hospitals using surge capacity has been four or five since July 5.
 
July 9: The state reported 25 new deaths.
 
July 8: The nation passed the 3 million mark for confirmed COVID-19 cases but Massachusetts' numbers continue to decline. There are 30 deaths and only 162 new cases reported. However, the number of hospitals using surge capacity has risen from 1 on July 5 to five. Overall, the three-day average of patients hospitalized has dropped to 82 percent.
 
July 7: The state reported 15 new deaths. The six measures dictating the reopening have not changed since June 5; the positive test rate, hospitalizations, and testing capacity have a positive trend status and deaths, health-care system readiness and contract tracing are "in progress." 
 
July 6: DPH separated out probable cases/deaths from the data. No was reason given but it dropped the death count by 215 and the positive cases by more than 5,000. There were 15 new confirmed deaths from COVID-19 for a total of 7,983 (200 less than Sunday.) Phase 3 of the reopening began today.

July 5: The state reported 11 new deaths.
 
July 4: The state reported 23 new deaths on Saturday.
 
July 2 & 3: Berkshire County recorded its first death on July 3 since June 19, bringing the total number to 45. The number of confirmed cases continues to slowly tick, surpassing 600. The number of deaths statewide is 8,149 with 68 new deaths recorded over the past two days.
 
July 1: 28 new deaths were reported.
 
June 30: For the first time since March 20, zero new deaths have been reported by the state. The total number of confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths has also been reduced to 8,054 from 8,095 from cleaning up data to eliminate duplicate reports. 
 
June 29: The state reported 35 deaths and 101 new cases.
 
June 28: The number of deaths reported is again low, at 19; Berkshire County has not had a death related to COVID-19 since June 19. The count for the county remains at 44.
 
June 27: The number of deaths reported for Saturday is 28.
 
June 26: The number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the state passed 8,000 on Friday, with a total of 8,013. More than 809,000 individuals have been tested and the cumulative number of positive cases is 108,070. Berkshire County recorded the first confirmed case in several days, bringing the total since March to 592.
 
June 25: The state is reporting 25 deaths today; more than 800,000 individuals have been tested. Berkshire County numbers in cases and deaths remain the same. 
 
June 24: The state reported 48 deaths; the number of cases in Berkshire County has not changed in three days and the number of deaths has remained at 44.
 
June 23: The state reported 16 deaths on Tuesday. 
 
June 22: The state reported 46 deaths over Sunday and Monday, with 17 reported on Monday, June 22. 
 
June 20: The state reported 28 new deaths today. 
 
June 19: Two more deaths have been reported in Berkshire County for a total of 44; deaths statewide are now at 7,800 with 30 more reported today. However, the trend in cases and hospitalizations continues to decline and the state is set for limited indoor dining and personal services to begin on June 22.
 
June 18: The state reported 36 new deaths; the number of cases in the county continues to creep up to 584.
 
June 16 & 17: New deaths totaled 87 over two days. Berkshire County's number of cases has fluctuated, first dropping by a couple and then rising to 582 on June 17. The number of deaths has remained the same. 
 
June 15: The state reported 23 deaths and showed continued declines in new cases and hospitalizations. Berkshire County's case number was reduced to 579 after two days at 580. No reason was given.
 
June 14: Forty-eight new deaths were reported for a total of 7,264. Berkshire County's cases remain at 580 and 42 deaths. More than 700,000 people have now been tested with 105,603 as confirmed positive.
 
June 13: The state reported 38 new deaths and three-day hospital average has now dropped 78 percent.
 
June 12: The state reported 46 new deaths including one in Berkshire County, the second in five days. The county had not recorded a COVID-19 death for nearly two weeks.
 
June 11: The state reported 38 deaths; no dashboard numbers were available June 10, but the number of deaths was 46.
 
June 9: Only 27 deaths were reported today.
 
June 8: Of the 38 new deaths reported on Monday, one was from Berkshire County. To date, 41 people in the county have died from COVID-19. The total number of deaths statewide is at 7,353; the state reported 27 deaths on June 7. 
 
June 6: The state reported 55 new deaths and upgraded "COVID-19 patients in hospitals" to a positive trend. Of the reopening indicators three — including positive test rate and testing capacity — are now green, or positive trend. Deaths, health-care system readiness and contract tracing remain "in progress."
 
June 5: The total number of cases COVID-19 in Berkshire County continues to creep up by twos and threes but the number of deaths has remained at 40. New deaths reported statewide is 35, the lowest number since the beginning of April. 
 
June 4: 50 deaths were reported, continuing a downward trend that began two weeks ago. The number of total cases in Berkshire County is 568 again, indicating yesterday's reduction may have been a typo.
 
June 3: The state reported 68 new deaths; the three-day average is now down 66 percent and the three-day average of COVID-19 in patients is down 53 percent. DPH reduced the number of cases in Berkshire County by two but did not give a reason.
 
June 2: The state reported 50 new deaths.
 
June 1: New deaths on May 31 were 78; beginning June 1, DPH is also counting probable COVID-19 deaths. Those were 141 on June 1 and 48 confirmed COVID-19 deaths. The number of deaths in Berkshire County remains at 40. 
 
May 30: The state reported 50 new deaths.
 
May 29: The state reported 78 new deaths.
 
May 28: The state reported 93 new deaths.
 
May 27: Another Berkshire County death has been recorded, bringing the total to 40 and 72 new deaths statewide, bringing that total to 6,547. 
 
May 26: The state again reported a low number of deaths, 57, but again this may delays in reporting because of the Memorial Day holiday.. However, the Berkshires reported only its second death since May 6, bringing the county's total to 39. 
 
May 25: The state reported 44 new deaths on Monday; this may be an aberration because of the holiday.
 
May 24: The state reported 68 new deaths on Sunday.
 
May 23: The number of reported deaths and hospitalizations continues to trend down. The state reports 72 new deaths and 610 patients in ICUs across the state compared to more than 1,000 three weeks ago.
 
May 22: Berkshire County has reported its first death from COVID-19 since May 6, bringing the total since March to 38. The number of cases has continued to tick up a few at a time and now stands at 510. The trend continues to decline statewide with deaths reported Friday at 80 and new cases at 805. There has been a 68 percent decline in average daily cases over the past week and 50 percent decline in the three-day average of reported deaths.
 
May 21: The number of deaths reported on Thursday is 82.
 
May 20: The number of COVID-19 cases in Berkshire County hit 500. Deaths remain at 37 but the number of statewide deaths has passed 6,000 with 128 new deaths reported.
 
May 19: The state reported 76 deaths on Monday, the third day the number of deaths has dropped below 100. There still may be a lag in reporting but the three-day average has now dropped 48 percent.
 
May 18: Newly reported deaths on Monday were 62, the second consecutive day below 100. The three-day average has declined by 38 percent, although officials caution about lags in reporting.
 
May 17: The state reported 92 deaths on Sunday.
 
May 16: The state recorded 113 new deaths; the number of Berkshire cases has been rising slightly over the past week and now stands at 495 but deaths remain at 37 and has not changed since May 6.
 
May 15: 110 new deaths were reported for a total of 5,592; hospitalizations continue to trend at 3 percent.
 
May 14: There were 167 new deaths reported; the number of COVID-19 deaths in Berkshire County remains at 37. The percentage of hospitalizations has dropped to 3 percent with 781 patients in intensive care statewide.
 
May 13: The state reported 174 new deaths. There apparently was a lag in results over the past couple days which resulted in an unusually low number on Tuesday, although the average is still lower than recent figures. 
 
May 12: the state reported 33 new deaths, the lowest number since March.
 
May 11: 129 deaths were reported for a total of 5,108 to date.
 
May 10: 139 new deaths were reported statewide.
 
May 9: 138 new deaths reported; the Berkshire County toll remains at 37.
 
May 8: The number of deaths continue to climb with 150 news deaths reported. However, hospitalizations are declining, dropping to 4 percent of cases as of Friday.
 
May 7: The state has reported 132 new deaths for a total of 4,552.
 
May 6: Some 208 deaths were reported statewide including one in Berkshire County. 
 
May 5: The state reported 122 deaths.
 
May 4: The state reported a low of 86 deaths, however there tends to be a lag in reporting coming off the weekend. Deaths in Berkshire County remain at 36.
 
May 3: The state reported 158 new deaths on Sunday, raising the total number of deaths above 4,000.
 
May 2: The state reported 130 new deaths on Saturday and 1,953 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
 
May 1: One more death has been reported in Berkshire County for a total of 36 since the pandemic began. The state reported 154 deaths on Friday and 947 COVID-19 patients in ICUs. 
 
 
April 30: Another death has been reported in Berkshire County for a total of 35 to date; 152 new deaths have been reported statewide.
 
April 29: Deaths from COVID-19 took a jump on Wednesday with 252 — the highest number so far — being reported. Total deaths are now 3,405 including three in Berkshire County. These are the first deaths in the Berkshires in a week. 
 
April 28: The state reported 150 new deaths on Tuesday for a total of 3,153. This is lower than last week's average and, with the weekend taken into account, may signal the state is on the other side of the curve. 
 
April 27: The number of deaths and total cases in Berkshire County has not changed since last week; 104 deaths were reported statewide. This is a significant dip but may  not accurately reflect actual deaths over the weekend.
 
April 26: The state has reported 169 new deaths; Berkshire County has remained the same for several days at 31.
 
April 25: The state has reported 174 new deaths statewide for a total of 2,730.
 
April 24: The state reported 192 new deaths on Friday; the data was delayed until later Friday night and not posted on iBerkshires until the next morning.
 
April 23: The state reported 178 new deaths on Thursday; 1,032 patients are being treated in ICUs across the state.
 
April 22: Two more Berkshire County residents were among the 221 new deaths reported on Wednesday. This was the highest number of deaths reported statewide to date. 
 
April 21: The state reported 152 new deaths on Tuesday.
 
April 20: The state reported 103 new deaths for a total of 1,809 statewide. Total numbers of new cases has dropped over the last four reporting cycles and deaths also appear down, however, this is Monday and there has been a reporting lag over weekends so these numbers may not hold. 
 
April 19: Two Berkshire women in their 60s and 80s have died; 146 total deaths were reported statewide.
 
April 18: A Berkshire County man in his 90s was among 156 new deaths reported on Saturday.
 
April 17: The state is reporting 159 new deaths, including four centenarians and six people in their 50s, showing the range of people being affected. 
 
April 16: Three Berkshire women in their 60s, 80s and 90s have died. Statewide deaths reported over 24 hours is 137. 
 
April 15: The state is reporting 151 new deaths, the highest single day number to date, for a total  of 1,108 deaths from complications of COVID-19.
 
April 14: A Berkshire County woman in her 90s has died and 113 deaths have been reported statewide. Hospitalizations are no longer being reported as a single number; find total capacity here.
 
April 13: Eighty-eight new deaths reported, none in Berkshire County. The day's total was based on deaths reported by 10 a.m., a change fro 12:30 p.m. over the past two months. The new reporting time will be the preceding 24 hours from 10 a.m. each day.
 
April 12: Seventy new deaths reported, none in Berkshire County. 
 
April 11: Eighty-seven new deaths were reported, none in Berkshire County.
 
April 10: Ninety-six more people have died including a Berkshire County woman in her 90s.
 
April 9: A Berkshire County man in his 90s has died along with 69 other state residents for a total of 503 deaths to date.
 
April 8: Two Berkshire County women, one in her 80s and one in her 90s, have died. New deaths reported statewide is 77 for a total of 433.
 
April 7: The number of deaths from COVID-19 jumped by 96 on Tuesday, including five more Berkshire residents. These include deaths from over the weekend and the last 24 hours that have been matched to tests and reported out. Berkshire deaths were of three men in their 50s, 70s, 80s, and two women in their 90s and 100s. 
 
April 6: Twenty-nine more deaths have been reported of residents ranging in age from their 50s to their 90s.
 
April 5: Three more Berkshire County residents have died: three women in their 60s, 90s, and 100s. Total of number of deaths reported statewide on Sunday is 15.
 
April 4: A Berkshire County woman and a man, both in their 90s, and a man in his 80s have died; total deaths statewide rose by 24 to 253.
 
April 3: There were 38 more deaths reported on Friday, none in Berkshire County. However, Williamstown Commons has reported two deaths on Wednesday so it is not clear if they were COVID-19 related.
 
April 2: Thirty-two more deaths have been reported for a total of 154 to date. The majority were hospitalized, including a Suffolk woman in her 30s.
 
April 1: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state jumped by 1,118; 33 new deaths were recorded for a total of 122 since the pandemic spread to Massachusetts.While most of the deaths have been of residents ranging in age from their 60s to 100s, a man in his 30s has died in Suffolk County. The majority have also died in the hospital. Williamstown Commons reports that the number cases has remained at 20.  
 
March 31: A Berkshire County woman in her 80s has died. The state reports 33 new deaths for a total of 80. These numbers presumably contain the six COVID-19 deaths confirmed at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke that were not previously reported; another five deaths there are being investigated as COVID-19.
 
Pittsfield is reporting a total of 61 active cases; a Pittsfield death was reported March 23.
 
March 30: Eight new deaths reported: Man in his 60s and woman in her 70s, Middlesex; woman, 80s, and man, 60s, Essex; woman, 70s, Norfolk; two women, 70s and 60s, Suffolk; and woman, 70s, Bristol. 
 
March 29: DPH reports four more deaths, including a Berkshire County woman in her 80s who had not been hospitalized. Also a man in his 80s from Essex County; woman, 90s, Middlesex; and woman, 70s, Norfolk.

March 28: Nine more people have died: woman in her 60s in Essex County; woman, 80s, Suffolk; man, 80s, and woman, 50s, Worcester; woman and man, both 80s, Norfolk; two men, 70s and 80s, and woman, 90s, Hampden.

March 27: Two more Berkshire County residents have died from complications of COVID-19: a man in his 60s and a woman in her 90s. Both had been hospitalized. Eight other state residents have also died: three women in their 80s and a man in his 60s from Norfolk County; woman, 90s, Franklin; man, 80s, Middlesex; man, 90s, Barnstable, and a woman, 90s, Bristol. 

March 26: 10 deaths total. Two men (50s & 80s) from Essex; two men (70s & 80s) and a woman (80s) from Middlesex; man, 80s, Hampden; man, 90s, Suffolk; man, 80s, Worcester; woman, 70s, Norfolk; man, 80s, Franklin. All but three confirmed hospitalized. 

March 25: A man and a woman in their 70s from Worcester County and two men in their 80s from Norfolk and Barnstable counties. All four had been hospitalized.

March 24: A Berkshire County woman in her 60s and a woman in her 80s from Middlesex County have died. 

March 23: Two women, both in their 70s and from Essex and Worcester counties, and two men — one in his 60s from Suffolk County and the other in his 80s from Norfolk County — have died. All four had been hospitalized.

March 22: A Berkshire County man has reportedly died from COVID-19, according to a statement by the DPH.

The first deaths resulting from COVID-19 in the state occurred on March 20  (a man in his 80s from Suffolk County) and on March 21 (a woman in her 50s from Middlesex County).

 

Cancellations, Closures & Changes ?
Please assume that your local governmental offices, libraries and COAs are closed or operating under limited conditions. Use your town's official website for business or call to find out what precautions have been put in place. Always call ahead to ensure your destination is open.
 
• The Pittsfield RMV is appointment only for only critical services that cannot be done online or over the phone. Check the website for licenses and certificates that have been extended.
 
• All restaurants and bars are closed to on-premise consumption; please consider ordering takeout from them or buying gift cards to help them through this difficult period. 
 
• All schools are closed at least through May 4. All gatherings of more than 10 are prohibited; expect that all meetings, performances, clubs, fundraisers, worship services and other such activities are canceled. 
 
• All state programs are canceled and non-essential executive branch employees have been ordered to stay home. Museums and other cultural institutions are closed as are movie theaters and YMCAs.  
 
• Banks are currently open for driveup, online banking, ATMs or the drive-up. 
 
• Groceries, pharmacies, department and convenience stores are still open. PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT BUY MORE THAN YOU NEED. Rules in effect include maintaining a 6-foot distance, shopping hours for vulnerable populations, and access to disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.
 
• Child-care centers open only for essential personnel. Visitation at nursing homes and medical facilities are limited to prevent virus spread. 
 
• Other services and organizations are mainly open for phone consultation and limited person-to-person contact. 
 
What you can do 
 
Take a walk or a bicycle ride. Spring clean. Call friends or Facetime. Get your garden ready. Check on folks who may need help. Watch a movie. Order from your favorite restaurants. Take a deep breath. Wash your hands.
 

 

 

 


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Dalton Water Chief Says Lead in Lines Unlikely

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Some residents received an "alarming" notice from the Water Department about the possibility of lead pipes or solder in some homes, but officials assured them not to worry.
 
The notice is a result of a new rule from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at the federal level to ensure that there is no lead in anybody's drinking water, Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said during a Select Board meeting last week. 
 
"Going forward, there's additional regulations regarding that, and the water district has sent out letters … that says you may have lead pipes. They will be conducting surveys to find out what the extent of the issue is," he said. 
 
Later that week, during a Board of Health meeting, Water Department Superintendent Bob Benlien emphasized that the notice was not an indication of a lead issue in the water system. 
 
The notice was required by the state to help the town gather more data to determine the materials used in the service lines, he said.
 
"It's not saying that we have lead in the water. It's not saying that we have lead in the pipe. It just says that we don't have all of our water lines documented," Benlien said. 
 
Part of the water treatment process is doing corrosion control and pH adjustments to the water to minimize the risk of lead and copper leaching into the water.
 
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