The Florida Department of Health will allocate an additional $7.4 million in state funding to Miami-Dade County to combat the spread of the Zika virus via mosquito control as local transmission continues in Miami Beach, according to an announcement on Tuesday from Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R).
The additional monies are part of the $61.2 million in state funds Gov. Scott has authorized to fight Zika since June. The funds will be used to hire more mosquito control staff and increase pesticide spraying campaigns.
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"Miami-Dade County has more than 130 cases of locally transmitted Zika and more than 230 travel related cases. We are working to aggressively fight this virus, but it is clear that more resources are needed to keep Floridians safe," said Gov. Scott. ".While Congress passed funding to fight Zika, we have not received any yet in Florida. Today, I directed DOH to immediately allocate $7 million in state funding to Miami-Dade County to ensure the community can continue aggressively fighting this virus."
According to a Tuesday update, the Florida Department of Health has identified 147 locally acquired cases of Zika and more than 1,000 cases of Zika overall in the state.
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