WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Scott made the announcement after returning from Washington in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade members of Congress to put partisanship aside and pass a Zika funding measure.
"I will not wait on the federal government to protect Floridians and our visitors. Today, I am authorizing an additional $10 million in state funding to continue combating the Zika virus," Scott said in the release.
Florida has been forced to use its own financial resources for mosquito surveillance, laboratories, tests and prevention kits. To date, total state funds authorized for Zika total $36.2 million, according to the release.
The current Zika outbreak started in several countries in South America in 2015. Pregnant women who carry the virus risk giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a serious condition in which an infant's brain is abnormally small and does not develop properly.
