Free Zika virus testing offered for residents at Miami Bech Police Department

6 new locally acquired cases reported in Florida

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Free Zika virus testing is now being offered for Miami Beach residents at the Miami Beach Police Department.

Free testing first took place over the weekend at Flamingo Park.

Local 10 News reporter Derek Shore was at the police station Tuesday as a number of people came in and out of the testing center that has been set up on the second floor. 

"I got an email, and I live here in the neighborhood, so I figured I might as well," Miami Beach resident Alex Paulmer said after being tested. "I recently had a (mosquito) bite and I'm just getting over a cold, so yeah, might as well."

"It's very important for me to get tested because I'm 7 months pregnant," another resident, Krystal Cruz, said.

Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County's mosquito control team was out early Tuesday, spraying  portions of the city in order to kill mosquitoes that are carrying the virus. 

The spraying comes as yet another pool of mosquitoes from the South Beach Zika zone tested positive for the virus over the weekend.

Aerial spraying to combat the virus also took place over the weekend, which has been highly controversial, as some residents worry about the pesticide's effect on their heath and the environment.

"We have parents who are residents here, who their children have heavy breathing during the day on Sunday.  Their children have rashes," resident Michael Capponi said.

Capponi is against the spraying of Naled, which critics call toxic. He said beyond human reactions, animals like koi fish in a fellow resident's pond, wound up dead over the weekend. Still, there's no official evidence that the spraying caused their deaths.

"Stop the aerial spraying for basically two weeks and let's recount the mosquitoes. That's the smartest thing to do for everybody," Capponi said.

The next aerial spraying is scheduled for next Sunday. Many residents are expected to attend Wednesday's commission meeting to voice their concerns about the use of Naled in the spraying.

Health officials said there are six new non-travel-related cases of the Zika virus in Florida, and 86 infections across the state involve pregnant women.