Pittsfield Back in 'Yellow Zone' for COVID-19 Transmission

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Following the holiday weekend, the city has dipped into the yellow incidence rate for COVID-19 transmission.

On Tuesday, the percent positivity rate was 4.3, down from 5.3 last week. To be in the yellow zone, a community must have 10 or fewer average cases per 100,000 people or have a 5 percent or less positivity rate.

The average case rate was 29.1 on Tuesday, a metric that has stayed rather steady since mid-June.

The city is still close to the red zone, which is categorized 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.

There are 54 estimated actively contagious cases in the city with 14 new cases on Tuesday. There have been more than 12,000 cases total. 

In mid-May, Pittsfield saw a surge that skyrocketed the percent positivity rate to almost 15 and the average case rate to over 130 cases per 100,000 people. There were more than 370 estimated actively contagious cases. 

There are currently three patients hospitalized at Berkshire Medical Center who have the virus. During the time of the mid-May surge, there were more than 20 hospitalizations.

Though the metrics have decreased, the city's Biobot sewage testing is showing an increase.  This testing is said to predict trends with the virus.


On Sunday, the seven-day average for virus concentration was 732.8 thousand copies per liter.  A couple of weeks ago, the virus concentration was 366.1 thousand copies per liter.

Following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's approval of vaccination for children under the age of 5, Berkshire Health Systems began to schedule vaccine clinics for infants and toddlers.

On July 9, the BHS testing and vaccine center will provide vaccinations for children under the age of 5 from 8:30 to noon. Each month beginning Saturday, Aug. 6, BHS will have pediatric vaccine clinics in Pittsfield on the first Saturday of the month, serving children under age 5 from 8:30 to noon and children 5 to 11 from 12:30 to 4 p.m.

Berkshire County's seven-day average on Tuesday was 33 and there were 105 new cases. In mid-May, the seven-day average was more than 130.


 


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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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