The Department of Agriculture’s announcement came just hours after Gov. Rick Scott announced he was setting aside million to fight the spread of Zika.
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There are now 77 local cases of Zika in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Wynwood is the first neighborhood in the continental United States to have a local outbreak of Zika, a mosquito-borne virus that has been shown to cause birth defects.
The official advised all passengers to meet a doctor at the airport medical office, if he/she is experiencing fever, when returning to the country.
Florida’s governor, at a news conference earlier on Monday, said there have not been any cases of Zika in the Wynwood neighborhood in the past 45 days, and declared that “everybody should be coming back here and enjoying themselves”.
Hundreds of people in the state have become infected with the virus that can cause severe birth defects.
President Barack Obama in February asked Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency spending to fight Zika.
The Florida Department of Health said it believes ongoing transmission is taking place within the small identified areas in Wynwood and Miami Beach.
Florida officials are expected to declare the Wynwood section of Miami free of Zika on Monday morning, ending a almost two-month period where the popular tourist area suffered under a federal travel warning over the mosquito-borne virus. He cited aggressive mosquito control measures, outreach to the community, education efforts and the vigilant actions of the area’s residents and businesses.
Florida is the only state in which local transmission of Zika has been detected. City Commissioner Ricky Arriola dismissed them outright, telling NBC: “You might not like the medicine, but you may have to take a little of it to get the Zika under control”.
Bale urged federal legislators to pass Zika funding.
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The governor has said they are sending down more help. That money will go to mosquito control, enhanced laboratory capacity and Zika kits from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
