Part of Northwest Wynwood "Cleared" of Zika Virus, Health Department Says

After going door-to-door testing people, spraying the entire neighborhood by air, and demanding as many residents as possible drain and cover sources of standing water in their homes, the Florida Health Department announced today that a ten-block area of northwest Wynwood — a small portion of the "active transmission zone" — has been cleared of the Zika virus.

"The department has cleared that area and is continuing to test people within the one-square-mile radius," the Health Department said in its daily Zika update.

The "cleared" area includes Jose de Diego Middle School but is an otherwise residential part of the neighborhood.
"The department still believes active transmission is only taking place within the identified one-square-mile area in Miami-Dade County," the department said. "There are no active investigations in Broward County and no areas of active transmission in Broward County."

Since the Health Department began testing for locally transmitted cases, more than 340 people in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties "who live or work near the individuals" infected with Zika have been tested for the virus.

Of those, 54 close contacts to one case in Miami-Dade have been tested with no additional positives, and 70 close contacts to one Broward case have been tested with no additional positives.

However, after testing 26 people close to two positive cases in Wynwood, one additional person was found with the virus, and three others are listed as "probable."

Likewise, the department says 52 individuals from the community have been tested — six tested positive but did not show symptoms.