“I looked at the hospitalization data for the state, and I also looked at the daily death data. And it is very interesting- We are exactly where we were on May 29th in 2021 as far as the seven-day rolling average of hospitalizations due to COVID abd the deaths that are attributed to COVID as one of the causes," said Amy Hardt, the Lead Public Health Nurse of the Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative. “When we look at local levels of COVID, not only case numbers, but also impact in terms of our local deaths, for example, and hospitalization as well, we do see that, for example, Berkshire Health Systems continues to report numbers in the high 20s on a daily basis of people who are hospitalized with COVID. I haven't seen it separated out with people who are there for COVID reasons. And at this time, we have a high, we continue to have what the CDC categorizes as a high community transmission rate that's based on our case numbers per population. We're still very much in that zone, both for the county overall and for the 10 towns that I support in Southern Berkshire County.”
With the downgrading of state guidance and numbers dropping across the region, some Berkshire communities have forecast an interest in fully dropping their own COVID-19 guidance. On Monday, Williamstown’s board of health discussed making the move as early as next month. Others could soon follow.
“What we will be doing is meeting next Wednesday on the 23rd of February for a special Board of Health meeting, and under that discussion will be the mask directive that we have in place," said Andy Cambi, the Public Health Director of Pittsfield, Massachusetts- The county seat with around 43,000 residents. “We'll definitely take into consideration the updated mask guidance from the state. They speak to the fact that Massachusetts is a nation-leader in vaccine acceptance, and also in light of the recent positive progress with the COVID indicators.”
Pittsfield has also seen its COVID numbers drop from the record highs of January.
“Mid-February, right now, we're at 8% of the positive rate," said Cambi. "So I expect to be at around 5% of a positive rate by the end of the month, early March.”
Whatever decision the city makes won’t be made alone.
“We want to make sure that the medical staff has the opportunity to also have a say in how our COVID numbers are affecting them," Cambi told WAMC. "So we take that into consideration too when making decisions like advisories or directives.”
Cambi says he’s also in communication with Pittsfield’s schools. The state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced this month that it will allow its mask mandate to drop on February 28th.
“We had a meeting with Joe Curtis, our superintendent and we kind of talked about what they're experiencing in their schools and also what we're experiencing within the public, as well as what's happening in the state," said Cambi. "So we're definitely in communication, and there hasn't been a decision made yet, but I know there's one coming in the near future.”
As far as the state’s decision to downgrade its masking guidance, public health officials like Hardt say that people need to not just analyze their own situation but also those around them.
“If I had someone at home or in my social circle who had an immunocompromised status or who had comorbidities, especially multiple comorbidities – and there are a number of those that we know directly impact the risk of severe COVID, things like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, and advanced age, I would also add to that list – If I people like that immediately in my circle, I would advise and I personally would take more caution than I might advise or if I were someone else without folks like that in my life, or if I myself had those things going on.”
