COVID-19 Cases Climbing

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — COVID-19 has been making a resurgence around the state. 
 
There were more than 2,000 new cases in Massachusetts in the past seven days and University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester is mandating employees mask around patients after a jump in COVID-19 positive employees.
 
iBekshire stopped posting weekly updates on the virus back in March. That last post had the number of positives reported statewide that week as 2,612, a number that had continued to decline along with hospitalizations. 
 
The state interactive dashboard shows higher positive numbers in the eastern part of the state, particularly Middlesex County. Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and the islands have the lowest numbers. 
 
Confirmed positives had declined to 54 statewide for the first week in July. 
 
The number of positive testing patients hit a low of 98 in July and has now climbed to about 300. About a third of those were being treated primarily for the novel coronavirus and about two-thirds of the total were fully vaccinated.
 
Berkshire Health Systems is no longer posting the number of positive patients in its facilities. Integritus Healthcare (formerly Berkshire Healthcare) is reporting one patient case and four employee cases at a Holyoke facility. 
 
 
Nationally, the number of positives is also trending up with hospital admissions up almost 22 percent the second week of August (the most recent reporting). Total hospitalizations to date is 6,256,971.
 
Deaths, through Aug. 19, were up more than 21 percent and the national total is now 1,138,602. 
 
Of the 91 new cases reported in Berkshire County in the past two weeks, 42 were in Pittsfield. The next highest was seven each in North Adams and Lenox. 
 
The county's 14-day positivity rate is fairly low for the state at 6.49 percent; the state's seven-day rate is 10.83 percent. 

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Mass MoCA Commission Approves Mental Health Practices as Tenants

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Mass MoCA Commission on Thursday approved three new tenants for Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. 
 
Kimma Stark, project manager at the museum, gave the commission the rundown on each of the new tenants. 
 
Eric Beeman is a licensed mental health counselor who uses art in his therapy. He holds a master's degree in expressive arts and arts therapy from Lesley University, where he's also taught graduate-level practices and principles of expressive art therapy.
 
He integrates creative arts based interventions into his clinical work including drawing painting, poetry, writing, brief drama and roleplay, movement and sound. Beeman works one-on-one and with small groups and said he mostly works with adults. 
 
He will be operating as Berkshires Expressive Arts Therapy on the third floor of Building 1. 
 
Beeman said Stark has been very helpful. "It's different than just renting a space and she's been very helpful and personable and accessible," he said. 
 
Mary Wilkes, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist, works with individuals with severe mental illness, with attachment and relationship issues and needing support navigating major life transitions. She works with teenagers, college and students and adults. 
 
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