Communities are responding to the first reported case of COVID-19 in Berkshire County.
Over the weekend, news broke that a hospital in Pittsfield, Massachusetts was treating the county’s first case of the spreading disease.
“We received information from Berkshire Medical Center notifying us that there was a presumptive positive result for coronavirus and that the resident was from North County," said Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, who says the city of around 43,000 is organizing in response. “We continue to talk often and meet for preparedness planning. We have an internal team that’s working closely with local, state and federal public health officials so we are prepared to respond as the situation evolves while we continue to do long-term planning.”
With the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention reporting 164 confirmed cases in 19 states and 11 dead from the virus, Pittsfield is preparing for the worst.
“It’s not impossible to imagine that it may continue to expand in Pittsfield and the Berkshires, but we have got a really great network in place and we’re ready to respond and activate decisions as the situation evolves,” said the Mayor.
Tyer says the city’s first line of defense is to follow state and federal public health protocols.
Pittsfield is setting up a page on its website specifically dedicated to providing information on coronavirus.
For now, Tyer says the city is not moving to cancel public events in the face of the virus.
“At this point, Pittsfielders have to decide for themselves if they want to participate in large-scale events where there is a lot of people," she told WAMC. "I know that the public schools have made some really good decisions about traveling outside the country, traveling outside the county. They have started to cancel the spring concerts that were scheduled.”
North Adams is the county’s second largest community with around 13,000 people, 20 miles north of Pittsfield. The public schools there got a thorough cleaning over the weekend.
“We got a couple of disinfecting foggers, so really these are just hand-held devices you can go through and clean a whole classroom with a disinfecting solution," said North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard, who says the city is also convening its own team to prepare for the virus, including the schools, the public safety department and regional partners like Berkshire Health Systems, the boards of health, and Tyer down in Pittsfield.
“The coronavirus risk in Massachusetts and Berkshire County even with a presumptive case still remains low, but we’re still in flu season, and it’s high," said Bernard. "So that’s why everyone, myself included, is focusing on these basic hygiene best practices that prevent the spread of disease everywhere: washing your hands, avoid touching your eyes and your face, surface cleaning – which is what they’re doing in the schools – covering your mouth when you cough.”
While the nearby town of Clarksburg has closed its public facilities through March 13th, North Adams currently remains open for business and is not canceling public events.
“I’ve asked that for that question through the health inspector and so far they haven’t felt we need to take that step," said Bernard. "Do I envision a situation where we might make that situation? Yeah, it’s going to depend on what the next couple days bring and as we move through this phase of now having a presumptive case and seeing what that means for us.”
According to the state, as of March 8th – including the patient being treated in Pittsfield – there are 27 presumptive positive cases of the virus and one confirmed case.
As of March 3rd, 719 state residents were declared subject to quarantine, 470 of whom had completed monitoring. A Pittsfield family who visited rural China and returned without displaying coronavirus symptoms was ending its quarantine Monday.
