Pittsfield COVID-19 Cases Wane But Still Not 'Out of The Woods'

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — COVID-19 cases are declining in the city but it remains in the "red zone."

"While we're going down on the numbers, we're still not where we want to be,” Director of Public Health Andy Cambi said to the Board of Health on Wednesday.

A week ago, the percent positivity rate was 11.5, down from 14.7 in mid-May. The average case rate was 73.1 per 100,000 people, which is significantly less than the rate of 133.3 in mid-May.

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

Berkshire Medical Center currently has six patients who tested positive while there were more than 20 early last month.

There are an estimated 137 actively contagious people this week, down from 376 in mid-May.

Cambi reported that many residents came to the Health Department early last month for free testing kits. With summer vacation soon approaching, the city is providing test kits to its camps and ordering more from the state.

They have also been provided to Pittsfield schools.

Because the at-home tests aren't in the city’s database, Biobot sewage testing was identified as an important tool for having accurate case counts.

Last Tuesday, the testing showed a 7-day average virus concentration of 762.4 copies per liter, down from 1 million in mid-May.

Berkshire Athenaeum Seed Library Open for the Season

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:55PM / Thursday, March 27, 2025

Adult services staff Olivia Bowers and Tom Jorgenson cut the green ribbon on the seed library, opening the program for the season.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Athenaeum hosted a ribbon cutting for the seasonal opening of its seed library on Saturday.

 

The athenaeum has had a seed library since 2018 and last year had 217 program members.

 

"It always gets really great membership," Adult Services and Programming Supervisor Olivia Bowers said, "but we really want to advertise that it's available. It's a resource for free seeds to grow healthy vegetables, grow flower gardens and really enjoy nature in the Berkshires."

 

The seed library is funded by the volunteer organization Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum, which raises funds for the library programming and needs.

 

People who want to get seeds must have a library card to sign up. 

 

Members are able to sign out up to 10 seed packets for the season but are also encouraged to exchange seeds from what they grow or get.

 

"The idea is that, yes, it actually is a library, you can take things but we also encourage you to bring seeds back to us and we can use those again for next year," Bowers said.