WGXC-90.7 FM
Pittsfield wastewater predicts less COVID-19
Meg Britton-Mehlisch reports in The Berkshire Eagle that the wastewater in Pittsfield has good COVID-19 news, predicting a downturn in the number of cases. Since near the beginning of the pandemic scientists have tracked the concentration of coronavirus RNA in wastewater as a way of telling how much community transmission of the virus exists. Instead of putting thousands of swabs up noses, testing a town's wastewater can predict future surges of coronavirus. Last week in Pittsfield, the amount of coronavirus detected in city wastewater dropped to the lowest point in two months, with a general trend line showing coronavirus slowly is decreasing. “What I would expect from the next [wastewater] results is that it will go up,” Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales said, explaining the results tend to yo-yo between tests. But, he reports, the general recent trend is less COVID-19. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.