The mayor of Miami Beach issued a new warning for residents on Friday, cautioning that the threat of Zika “continues to grow.” New samples taken from the area show that mosquitoes have tested positive for the virus, reinforcing previous positive tests taken at the beginning of the month.
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In a statement released Friday, Mayor Philip Levine said the city would be doing “everything in [its] power to protect the health and well-being of our residents, businesses, and visitors.” Aerial spraying was conducted in Miami Beach on Friday, and will occur next on Sunday morning.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services urged residents to put the positive test results into perspective, however, noting that the state has conducted tests from more than 2,900 mosquito samples since May, and only four have resulted in positive results for Zika.
As of September 7, the CDC reported 2,964 cases of Zika in the United States. Despite the growing threat, Congress has failed to pass a Zika funding package this year. Their most recent attempt — the third time Congress has attempted to pass funding to fight the virus — failed to make it out of the Senate on Tuesday. The bill, which would have allotted $1.1 billion to Zika funding, included a provision that prevented Planned Parenthood from receiving any of the funds.
Congress failed to pass the bill on the same day that seven new locally-transmitted cases of Zika were reported in Florida, according to ABC News.