Pittsfield COVID Rates Slightly Higher Than Thanksgiving

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
10:05AM / Friday, December 23, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With Hanukkah underway and Christmas in a few days, the city's COVID-19 metrics are slightly higher than they were for Thanksgiving.

The city's Biobot sewage data showed a 1.1 million copies per liter virus concentration over the weekend, compared to the 1 million copies per liter concentration on Thanksgiving day.

Though the number has gone down from 1.9 million copies per liter at the beginning of the month.

Director of Public Health Andy Cambi has indicated that the sewage concentration is the truest indicator of the virus' presence in the community because the other metrics don't include at-home tests.

The average case rate on Tuesday was 24.2 cases per 100,00 people and the positivity rate was 8.1 percent. On Thanksgiving, there were 13.5 cases per 100,000 and the positivity rate was 5.7 percent.

There are around 65 estimated actively contagious cases, nearly double that of Thanksgiving, and 11 hospitalizations at Berkshire Medical center.

On Sunday, there were 20 new cases.

The city remains in the "red zone" for transmission, having more than 10 cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate above 5 percent. It has essentially remained in this category since last year with some reprieve in the spring that put the city in the lesser "yellow zone."

The city has 65 active cases and 15,124 total cases, with 77 percent of residents fully vaccinated. There have been 91 total reported deaths but the city has not had a death related to COVID-19 since mid-October. Berkshire Health Systems has 13 patients who have tested positive. Statewide, the percentage of positive patients being treated primarily for the novel coronavirus has hovered around 30 percent.

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Berkshire Museum Explores Ancient Egypt With ‘Soulful Creatures’

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
11:33AM / Friday, October 09, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Following its multimillion-dollar renovation, the Berkshire Museum is welcoming an exhibition unlike any it has been able to host before.

Marking the museum's first major exhibition since its renovation, "Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt," opening Saturday, Oct. 10, thins the veil between the ever-evolving history of Egyptian culture and society and modern day people.

"The most important thing about history is recognizing people from the past as actual people. Ancient Egyptians are no different than us," said William Dore, the museum's chief curator. "They have different cultures and beliefs and different viewpoints, but you can say the same thing about people today."

When audiences experience the exhibit, they will see the humanity in the people of the past, which in turn helps them connect with different views and perspectives around the world today, he said.

Combining archeology with modern scientific imaging, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Museum curators Yekaterina Barbash and Edward Bleiberg designed an exhibit that works to uncover the mysteries behind these objects and the beliefs and rituals that surround them.

"I think something that people kind of misunderstand about history is none of it's ever settled. ... History is a science that is constantly questioned,” Dore said. "It only works if everyone's constantly rethinking things, learning new things ... which is for me super exciting because as much as we know a lot about the ancient Egyptians, there's a lot we don't know.”

The installation features dozens of artifacts on loan from the Brooklyn Museum that explores the practice of animal mummification and the role animals played in ancient Egyptian religion.

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