Residents can call between 7 a.m. and midnight on Monday. Media contact at DEM is Stephanie Powell, 222-4700 ext. 4418, pager 482-2968. DEM will issue additional bulletins on an as needed basis to report on new information. This Protocol also governs state-local coordination on prevention, preparedness and response.
More details follow below.
The above telephone lines are manned during normal business hours during the week. West Nile Virus has been found in two new communities. A crow collected on Sherwood Drive in Westerly on August 17 and a crow collected on Cliff Terrace in Newport on August 16 tested positive for the virus at the University of Rhode Island virology laboratory. The lab reported the results to DEM on Saturday evening. Based on the spray rate of the state's four available sprayers, which will be loaned to the communities, spraying is estimated to take five hours.