EEE Threat Has Mayor Cancel All Evening City Activities

NEW LONDON, CT—After talking with state and local health officials, all city sponsored or supervised outdoor activities will end by dusk, according to a statement from Mayor Michael Passero's office.

After repeated warnings that mosquitoes in the region have tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and after learning that the second-ever recorded case of a human infected with EEE has been found in an East Lyme resident, as confirmed by federal health officials, the city has shuttered after dusk activities. As sunset gets earlier every day, dusk is currently 6:15 p.m. The mayor's office says the ban is "effective immediate and until further notice."

The city says that after consulting with Ledge Light, "it has been determined that extra precautionary steps must be employed."

The city says quoting the Connecticut Department of Health that "all city employees involved in city-sponsored or supervised outdoor activities ...are advised against unnecessary trips into mosquito breeding grounds and marshes as the mosquitoes that transmit EEE virus are associated with freshwater swamps and are most active at dusk and dawn."

"To effectively meet out safety objectives in this matter we will need the full cooperation of all city employees and the public and we must be mindful of this threat and take all reasonable precautions for our on-duty city employees that must work in the outdoor environment during the dusk to dawn periods," New London Chief Administrative Officer Steven L. Fields was quoted as saying.

Area schools and towns have similarly canceled evening activities.