USA TODAY International Edition
Miami neighborhood declared Zika- free
The Centers for Disease MIAMI Control and Prevention lifted its travel warning for Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood Monday after Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared the area free of the Zika virus.
Scott urged tourists and residents to return to the area, which has suffered a sharp drop in business while under federal and state travel warnings for nearly two months.
Miami became the first U. S. city where Zika was transmitted locally by mosquitoes. That prompted state officials to create a warning box around the Wynwood community to show where the virus was spreading. It also led the CDC to issue a travel warning for pregnant women and their partners from entering that box.
On Monday, Scott said the neighborhood had not recorded a case of local Zika transmission in 45 days, clearing the way to remove the box.
“Everybody should be coming back here and enjoying themselves,” Scott said.
Even though the CDC lifted its travel warning for Wynwood, it still advises visitors and residents to take care to avoid mosquito bites in all of Miami- Dade County.
“We understand that this has been a difficult time for Wynwood residents and visitors,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement. “Still, we encourage people not to let down their guard.”
There is no vaccine for the Zika virus, which produces mild symptoms but can cause birth defects if pregnant women are infected.
The lifting of the state travel warning was welcome news for city officials and business own- ers such as Joseph Furst, who said they have “suffocated” during the 49 days that the travel warning was in effect.
Furst, chairman of the Wynwood Business Improvement District and a managing partner in a company that manages more than 100 properties in the neighborhood, said his businesses and tenants have seen 50% drops in business.
Said Albert Garcia, the district’s vice chairman: “We are open. We are safe.”