MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Mosquito control crews continued to look for any signs of mosquito breeding Friday in Miami Beach after three samples taken from mosquito traps tested positive for the Zika virus.
Commissioner Michael Grieco announced on social media that the State Department of Health officials told him six new locally acquired cases have been confirmed in Miami Beach.
"It's a serious problem, really, and they need to solve it somehow," Julia Larin, who is on vacation in Miami, said.
Larin and her family hit the beach two days ago, just ahead of the busy Labor Day holiday weekend.
But the family spent the last two years in Ecuador, where the Zika virus was spreading before it started spreading on Miami Beach.
"We know a lot about this. We know that people are suffering (and) we know that it's dangerous for pregnant women," Larin said.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said crews have tested thousands of mosquitoes, and three samples taken from the Miami Beach Zika zone came back positive.
The Miami Beach Botanical Garden, which is located in the zone, remained closed to the public Friday.
Officials said it will remain closed until they believe the mosquito situation is under control.
City officials said they still have a few places where bromeliads will be dug up, because their leaves are the perfect place for water to sit and breed mosquitoes.
The county will also keep spraying the area to kill off mosquito larvae.
