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Wynwood Businesses Eager To Get Mosquitos Out, Tourism In

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WYNWOOD (CBSMiami) -- On the outskirts of Wynwood's entertainment district, private contractors in bright yellow vests scour neighborhoods passing out flyers and reminding residents about the sudden battle the area is involved in.

"Drain and protect" is the mantra in the fight against virus-carrying mosquitos -- something both the county and state hope to drill home as Zika cases rise in number.

The Department of Health believes active transmissions of the virus are taking place in less than a one square mile, north of downtown.

On Thursday, August 11th, two sections within that impact zone, located in the southwest quadrant of Wynwood, were declared free of Zika.

Visitors, perhaps both unaware and unconcerned, are still stopping by to check out the Wynwood walls and art.

"No worries," said Corey Clayton, from Ft. Lauderdale. "It's a beautiful day, we're just walking around and looking at the art."

But what about mosquito repellent?

"We saw a store with the little Off spray," said her daughter Caroline, choosing to ignore it. "I guess I'm not really worried."

That's exactly what gallery, bar and restaurant owners want to hear, desperate to get tourists and customers back into the area after travel warnings were issued, especially for pregnant women.

"We will have more traffic on the streets because it was really slow due to this Zika," said business owner Lucas Herraiz. "I think that it will be better."

Zika 101: Prevent Spread By Protecting Yourself

But with the good news, comes more bad -- three more additional cases of locally-transmitted Zika were linked to the Wynwood arts and entertainment district.

Per the Governor's direction on August 3rd, all county health departments are now offering free Zika risk assessment and testing to any pregnant woman who would like to be tested.

Click here for more information on the Zika virus or here for more Zika-related stories.

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