MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday night that health authorities were expanding the Zika zone in Miami Beach.
The 4.5 square-mile area extends from Eighth Street to 63rd Street, where tourists from all over the world travel to enjoy the warm weather, while dining outdoors and playing on the beach.
Health officials also announced finding five more samples of mosquitoes trapped in South Beach that tested positive for the virus. This prompted a week-long clean up at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens.
Ground spraying for larvicide in Middle Beach begins Saturday. And there will be aerial spraying of pesticide at 6 a.m., Sunday.
A group of demonstrators continued to protest the use of naled, an insecticide the Environmental Protection Agency approved to control mosquito populations. Studies have shown it to be toxic to birds and fish.
The fears over the pesticide during election time translate into school board member Raquel Regalado being critical of her opponent, Miami-Dade County Carlos Gimenez, for approving the aerial spraying.
"City staff will continue working closely with state and county officials to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to protect the health and well-being of our residents, businesses and visitors," Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine said in a statement earlier this month.
Experts from the Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Florida departments of health and agriculture continue to work with Miami-Dade County's mosquito control program.
Scott also said the Zika zone in Miami's Wynwood, where the first locally transmitted cases surfaced in July, could be lifted soon.
As of Friday, there were 835 Zika infections reported in Florida, according to authorities.
