Florida

New Zika Zone Confirmed in Miami-Dade

"We need funding now," Gov. Rick Scott said, seeking federal assistance

A new Zika zone has been confirmed in Miami-Dade, Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Thursday, within a month of another zone in the county being declared closed.

The Florida Department of Health discovered that local transmission of Zika is occurring in an area about one square mile, Scott said in a statement. That zone runs from Northwest 79th Street south to Northwest 63rd Street and from Northwest 10th Avenue east to N. Miami Avenue.

101316 new Zika Zone Miami-Dade
Florida Department of Health
A map of the new Zika Zone in Miami-Dade.

Five people, two women and three men, have tested positive for Zika in the zone, according to the DOH. Four of the cases had already been announced but the investigation into the fifth case was completed Thursday.

"Today’s announcement of a new area in Miami of ongoing local transmission of the Zika virus underscores the urgent need for federal funding to combat the Zika virus," Scott said in a statement. "It has been two weeks since federal funding to fight Zika was approved by Congress and signed by President Obama. However, Florida has not yet received a dime. We don’t need bureaucratic timelines – we need funding now."

A second Zika zone in Miami Beach stretches from 8th Street to 63rd Street. The first Zika zone, which was in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, was lifted last month.

Federal and state health officials recommend that pregnant woman refrain from traveling to all the Zika zones.

More than 1,000 cases of Zika have been confirmed in Florida. Officials say 155 of those cases are non-travel related.

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