Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Provincetown are held in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to an agenda and details. All meetings are at town hall unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, Sept. 12
- Water and Sewer Board, 2 p.m., Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Finance Committee, 2 p.m.
- Community Housing Council, 6 p.m.
- Planning Board, 6 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 16
- Public Landscape Committee, 3:30 p.m., VMCC
Tuesday, Sept. 17
- Cultural Council, 5:30 p.m.
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 18
- Historic District Commission, 3:30 p.m.
- Human Services Committee, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 19
- MacMillan Pier Commission, 2 p.m.
- Planning Board, 6 p.m.
Conversation Starter
EEE Virus Detected
Routine mosquito testing found two insects that were carrying the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus in Provincetown on Aug. 29. One of them is from a species that primarily bites birds, according to the Barnstable County Health Dept., but the other is “an aggressive mammal-biting mosquito that tends to develop in temporary wet areas following rainfall.”
“While this mosquito is most active after dusk, they will bite during the day in areas of low light,” according to the county health dept.’s notice.
Mosquitoes that carry EEE can transmit it to horses and humans, causing an extremely serious inflammation of the brain. The disease is rare — with only 115 cases in Massachusetts in the last 85 years — but there is no treatment, and it kills about half the people it infects.
Six people died from EEE in the state in 2019 and one in 2020. There have been four cases in humans in Massachusetts this year, and one person has died from it in New Hampshire. The majority of cases in the state, including all four cases this year, are on the mainland.
The two positive tests in Provincetown are among only 91 positive mosquito tests in the state so far, so the risk is “moderate” here.
Among the county’s recommendations: use an insect repellent when outdoors, eliminate standing water around your house, and don’t camp overnight near swamps.
Truro and Wellfleet are listed as “low” risk on the state’s map, while in Eastham the risk is “remote.” — Paul Benson
