Gov. Rick Scott Amends Public Health Emergency to Include Broward County

Gov. Rick Scott at Bright Future Electric in Ocoee on June 11, 2015. (Photo: Carolyn Allen)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has expanded the declaration of public health emergency to include Broward County after confirming new cases of Zika virus. The order came after learning of three new cases of Zika–all of which are travel-related–including one in Broward County. The other new cases are in Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties and do not include any pregnant women.

“With over 20 million residents and 100 million tourists, we must stay ahead of the possible spread of the Zika virus and take immediate action to ensure Florida is prepared,” Gov. Scott said in a statement. “That’s why I am calling on the CDC to supply at least 1,000 antibody test kits, of which we currently have only 475, and also conduct a conference call with our hospital workers within the next two weeks so they are prepared to properly treat patients and protect public health.”

Gov. Scott and State Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong called on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take action to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the possible spread of the Zika virus by providing at least 1,000 Zika antibody tests so the state can test individuals, especially pregnant women and new mothers, who have traveled to affected areas and had symptoms of Zika.

The antibody test allows the state to see if individuals ever had the Zika virus, but the state of Florida currently has the capacity to test only 475 people.

“While Florida does have 448 kits to test active cases (different than antibody testing kits), I am authorizing the Department of Health to immediately purchase 4,000 more to ensure our state has the resources to quickly respond,” Gov. Scott added.

The governor also requested the CDC to conduct a conference call within the next two weeks to help train Florida hospital workers–especially OBGYN doctors and those who work with pregnant women–on how Zika is spread, its symptoms, treatments and proper precautions. Scott is also asking the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to evaluate how much funding they have available for mosquito control.

The Department has been appropriated $1.6 million in the last year for mosquito control and Governor Scott is requesting to know how much is still available.