Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

The CDC has issued a travel warning for Miami-area neighborhood

There have been 14 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Florida

Carlos Varas, a Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspector, uses a Golden Eagle blower to spray pesticide to kill mosquitos in the Wynwood neighborhood as the county fights to control the Zika virus outbreak on August 2, 2016 in Miami, Florida. There is a reported 14 individuals who have been infected with the Zika virus by local mosquitoes.
Carlos Varas, a Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspector, uses a Golden Eagle blower to spray pesticide to kill mosquitos in the Wynwood neighborhood as the county fights to control the Zika virus outbreak on August 2, 2016 in Miami, Florida. There is a reported 14 individuals who have been infected with the Zika virus by local mosquitoes.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Center for Disease control has issued a travel warning to the small community of Wynwood, just north of Miami. Last week, Florida state health officials confirmed that four people had contracted the Zika virus from local mosquitoes. An additional 10 people were confirmed to be infected today, bringing the total to 14.  This warning marks the first time in history  that the CDC has advised against travelling to an American neighborhood for fear of catching an infectious disease.

Zak Stern is the owner of Zak the Baker bakery in Wynwood, and spoke to Marketplace about the mood on the ground. 

On how the community is reacting to the travel warning: 

If I go to the main street of Wynwood, it’s definitely palpable. You can see all the different newscasts there with their very large antennas, and it feels like there was a murder or something that happened. But inside our actual bakery, the day to day, you wouldn’t really know the difference. People are still coming in. 

 On how he is taking it personally:

Leaving is never a choice. We run a wholesale bakery and this is a beast. It just keeps going. I’m more concerned, to be honest, with changing my air filters so our AC keeps working here in the middle of the summer here in Miami. So, it hasn’t reached the front burner. It’s back there, just ‘cuz I hear the buzz and everyone wants to know. But it’s certainly way in the back burner right now. 

Related Topics