MIAMI, Fla. -- Governor Rick Scott announced Friday that the Florida Department of Health has cleared the Little River area of local Zika transmission.
According to a press release, DOH has not detected any cases of local transmission of the Zika virus in 45 days in this area. The newly cleared area, which is about one square mile, is located NW 79th St. to the North, NW 63rd St. to the South, NW 10th Ave. to the West and N. Miami Ave. to the East. The only remaining area of active Zika transmission in Miami Beach is about 1.5 square miles between 8th and 28th streets.
Governor Scott said, “I am proud to announce that the Little River area has been cleared of any ongoing active transmission of the Zika virus. This great news comes as Miami is welcoming millions of visitors for Art Basel and shortly after we lifted the Zika zone in northern Miami Beach. It is crucial that everyone remains vigilant and continues to do their part to wear bug spray and dump standing water so we can keep these areas clear, especially for pregnant women and their developing babies. DOH now believes active transmissions of Zika is only occurring in the southern part of Miami Beach and I hope that local officials will consider every available resource to ensure aggressive mosquito control measures are being taken to lift this final Zika zone.
“It has been more than two months since over one billion dollars in Zika funding was signed by President Obama, and the federal government has still only committed $7 million to help reimburse Florida’s costs of fighting this virus. With news this week that Texas now has a known case of locally transmitted Zika, the federal government needs to make sure we get more funding to respond to Zika.”
Click HERE to see a detailed timeline of actions taken by Governor Scott to combat the Zika virus in Florida.
