Gov. Rick Scott hosts roundtable in Miami about Zika virus

Miami mayor hosts event presenting new technique to trap mosquitoes

MIAMI ā€“ Gov. Rick Scott hosted a roundtable discussion Friday with community leaders in Miami to talk about the Zika virus.

The roundtable was held at St. Mary Cathedral School, which is located in the newest designated Zika zone in the city of Miami.

Those who attended the event included Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla.

While at the school, students were visited by the governor who commended them on their learning about how to prevent the Zika virus from spreading.

"It's not as dense an area as we had in Wynwood and Miami Beach, so our expectation is that we can control it here, hopefully, without aerial spraying," Scott said.

Meanwhile, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado hosted another meeting on Friday, presenting a new mosquito prevention technique that the city will be testing.

The mayor and Miami City Commission Chairman Keon Hardemon have partnered with TV personality Dr. Gadget to give away equipment to residents in the cityā€™s Zika zone to kill off mosquitoes.

The DynaTrap DT2000XL attracts and traps mosquitoes from over the range of an acre.

"On behalf of the Miami City Commission and its residents, I would like to thank Dynamic Solutions and Dr. Gadget for making this donation to our community," Hardemon said. "Your team has empowered the City of Miami to assist its most vulnerable residents in combating the Zika virus through the distribution of the DynaTrap machine."

"We are going to ask the governor to help us fund more projects against Zika in the city of Miami," Regalado said.

Up to $25 million has been set aside for Zika research and to develop a vaccine.


About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

Andrew Perez is a South Florida native who joined the Local 10 News team in May 2014.