Miami Beach is currently undergoing aerial spraying for the Zika virus, after South Beach was declared the second active U.S. mainland zone of Zika transmission by way of mosquitoes. South Beach is also the first place on the mainland where the virus was found in isolated mosquito samples.
The increased risk of getting the virus led to some warnings being released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Travel warnings to the area have been issued to pregnant women, as well as in Miami’s Wynwood arts district.
Florida has had a total of 56 Zika cases that were unrelated to travel off the mainland, with 11 of those cases coming from Miami Beach and 29 of them coming from Wynwood.
Officials have maintained that the mosquito spray is not harmful to residents in the area, although not all of them feel that it is necessary. Many people kept their children out of school when the spraying began on Friday in an effort to avoid any unnecessary exposure to the chemicals. One resident put it as follows:
“We are concerned that the naled actually has more of a potential risk of creating the problems we are trying to avert than the actual concern with Zika.”
