MIAMI – Sunday marks the latest round of aerial spraying in Miami-Dade County in an effort to keep the number of non-travel-related Zika virus cases at 16, but it's coming at a cost to businesses.
There are still people out and about in the Wynwood area, where the locally acquired Zika cases are believed to have been transmitted, but not nearly the number of a normal weekend crowd.
Miami-Dade mosquito control experts hit the sky earlier in the day to spray the neighborhood in hopes of targeting the Zika-infected mosquitoes behind the latest wave of transmissions.
They've also been conducting insecticide efforts by ground.
But the Zika virus is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of businesses around the area, like Pop Lab, which has been selling vegan and organic ice pops in the same spot for the past three years.
Christina Cartselos said foot traffic has dropped ever since health officials deemed the area a source of locally acquired Zika cases.
"Business has definitely slowed down this weekend," Cartselos said. "I think a lot of people are definitely scared of the entire Zika outbreak and all of that, but really, there's nothing going on here as far as mosquitoes biting or infestation or anything like that. Everything is pretty much the same except for the fact that it's slow."
Vendors, bars and restaurants are starting to feel that pinch.
Some told Local 10 News that they are waiting for Art Walk next weekend to recoup for their losses.
