Part Of Miami Beach Lifted From Zika Zone

A part of Miami Beach has been lifted from the state's Zika zone.

Gov. Rick Scott announced Tuesday that the cleared the northern portion of an area in Miami Beach where local transmission of the mosquito-borne Zika virus has occurred. The agency cleared the three-mile area after no new local transmissions had been detected in the area in more than 45 days.

Zika transmissions are considered to remain active in about 1.5 square miles of Miami Beach, between 8th and 28th streets. Another area, about one-square-mile in the Little River area of Miami, also remains within a Zika zone.

Zika is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects.

The Department of Health said Florida has had 1,201 reported cases of Zika, with 10 new "travel related" cases reported Tuesday. In such cases, people are infected elsewhere and bring the virus into Florida. Five of the new travel-related cases were in Orange County, four were in Broward County, and one was in Miami-Dade.

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