Florida health officials are offering free Zika testing and prevention kits to pregnant women in Pinellas County.
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During Scott’s announcement, he confirmed four new cases of Zika in the Miami-Dade area.
Officials are looking into the possibility that the Pinellas County resident was infected with the virus in a neighbouring county.
The mosquito-borne virus, which is associated with birth defects and abnormalities, has spread through Florida and affected the Miami Beach area, with 36 cases of Zika virus reported.
Additionally, the state has cleared half the area of the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami where local transmission was first confirmed.
Gov. Scott also announced that following further testing and no evidence of continued active transmission, DOH is able to clear almost the entire perimeter of the area in Wynwood. “In addition to being a serious public health crisis, the spread of Zika threatens Florida’s hard working families and small businesses”.
The Pinellas case is one of five new non-travel related cases of Zika announced Tuesday.
The case in Gregg County is one of 122 in the state, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
It’s the second location in the county where officials believe people have contracted the virus locally.
Here’s a look at how the first-ever outbreak of locally transmitted Zika in the continental US has affected people throughout the region. The development prompted a travel advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urging pregnant women to avoid the area.
Scott, who met with Miami-Dade officials on Monday, said aggressive efforts by state and local officials have helped reduce the Wynwood zone where infections are occurring, and he said a similar response is taking place in Miami Beach.
President Obama requested $1.9 billion in emergency funds in February to develop a vaccine and control the mosquitoes that carry the virus.
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An Aedes aegypti mosquito is photographed through a microscope at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016.
