Amid Zika cases found in Miami Beach, Florida, health officials advised pregnant women to avoid traveling to active Zika zone, on Friday, August 19. Officials added that if possible, postpone their trip in Miami.

Miami beach is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. However, this week, tourism in Miami beach may be hurt as Florida health officials have found evidence of likely local Zika transmission on Thursday, August 18, CNBC reported. On Thursday, the health department revealed that there are 35 cases of likely local transmission in the state, which include two new cases that were identified outside of Wynwood.

The Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales, sent an email to city commissioners, confirming that two cases of Zika have been tied to Miami Beach, The New York Times reported. In a report, the first case includes tourist who had visited Miami Beach two weeks ago, and the second Zika case involves a Miami Beach resident who works on the island.

On Friday, August 19, Gov. Rick Scott held a news conference to discuss the developments. During the press conference, Scott confirmed that there are five people have been infected by the virus, NBC News reported.

Florida's Department of Health haven't confirmed if Zika had spread to Miami Beach after the virus being confirmed in the Wynwood neighborhood. Zika virus has spread through America since the a case in Brazil was confirmed. The virus has caused the rare birth defect microcephaly, which marked by abnormally small heads and developmental problems among babies, and it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly in Brazil, thus, caused alarm amoung public officials.

"If investigations reveal additional areas of likely active transmission, the department will announce a defined area of concern," said by Mara Gambineri, a spokeswoman for the health department.

In February, U.S. President Barack Obama requested $1.9 billion to fight Zika.

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Topics Zika, Zika virus, Barack Obama