NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - The North Adams Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center first reported a breakthrough case of COVID-19 last Tuesday, and since then, the number of infections at the center has risen to nearly 50.

As of Wednesday, 41 residents and seven staff members had tested positive for COVID-19.

Of the positive cases, all but three residents and two staff members are fully vaccinated. Six people have been hospitalized.

The center is operated by Berkshire Healthcare, and according to vice president of business development and marketing Lisa Gaudet, the outbreak could have been much worse if not for the vaccine.

“Their symptoms are generally mild to moderate, not severe,” said Gaudet. “That tells us that the vaccine is helpful in terms of mitigating severe symptoms that, typically, someone who is infected would otherwise experience.”

Seventy-five percent of the staff at Berkshire Healthcare is fully vaccinated, and now with the governor’s vaccine mandate for staff at long-term care facilities, all of their staff will have to be vaccinated by October 10.