MIAMI _ Another corner of Miami's Wynwood neighborhood was removed from the Zika travel warning area Thursday even as the number of local cases jumped by three.
Gov. Rick Scott announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had given the all-clear sign for four square blocks in the southwest corner of the arts district, south of Northwest 22nd Street and east of Northwest Fifth Avenue. Scott also said three new local cases were confirmed, bringing the total in South Florida to 25.
Last week, health officials lifted the travel warning advising pregnant women to avoid the area on a 10-square block area in the northwest corner.
The warning has angered local business owners who say patrons are staying away even though active transmissions remain linked to a single cluster with a 500 foot radius. Health officials extended the warning to a square-mile area that includes Midtown to account for the distance the Aedes aegypti mosquito typically travels.
At a meeting with a state health investigator and mosquito control officials Wednesday, business owners complained that efforts to inspect and clear areas were dragging while too little information was being provided, causing unfounded panic. When asked why more information could not be passed along, investigator Isabel Griffin said the agency was bound by privacy laws.
"This is a group effort," she said. "This is not up to Miami-Dade mosquito control and the Florida Department of Health. This is up to you all."
The trendy arts district became the focus of the Zika outbreak in early August when health officials identified a cluster of transmissions. The warning, the only such travel warning in the U.S., recommends pregnant women avoid the area and other visitors take precautions, including applying repellent or wearing pants and clothes with long sleeves. In the days since, business owners say streets have emptied out and worry that Saturday's upcoming ArtWalk, which can double profits for some businesses, will be a bust.
"It's great to announce that we are able to clear an additional four blocks," Scott said in a statement Thursday. "This means the area where we believe active transmissions are occurring in the state is significantly reducing."
Scott also repeated his criticism of the Obama administration and Congress, which he said has failed to respond to his request for more tests for pregnant women or additional money to fight the outbreak.
"The president and Congress must work together to get to a solution for all the families across our nation," he said.
