After a heated emergency workshop that included protests from neighbors against the use of a pesticide forbidden in Europe and exchanges between the Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, the aerial spraying of adulticide against mosquitoes in Miami Beach was postponed 24 hours until Friday morning.
"In consultation with health experts and the city of Miami Beach, we have agreed to delay aerial spraying with adulticide by one day," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.
Gimenez indicated that the decision was made in response to a petition by "city leadership and residents," who in an emergency workshop organized by the City Council "asked for more time to prepare and inform Miami Beach residents and visitors about about our aerial-spraying plan."
Gimenez's statement indicated that the aerial spray will start on Friday, Sept. 9, around 5 a.m. weather permitting. Miami-Dade County officials will spray again on Sunday and continue doing so on the following two weekends using a plane that flies 300 feet over the ocean and let the sea winds carry the insecticide, named Naled, to the island.
Miami-Dade County authorities announced on Tuesday the beginning of aerial spray against mosquitoes in an area between Eighth and 28th streets and from the Beach to Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach. Gimenez said then it was " the right and safe thing to do at this time,” even though experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recommended against it on previous occasions because of the high-rise buildings and high-density urban living in Miami Beach.
