Florida’s governor says the potentially deadly Zika infection is no longer spreading locally in Florida.

With state and local officials looking on proudly, Gov. Rick Scott lifted the “red” designation from the area of Miami Beach that includes South Beach, a tourism mecca that had been suffering economically from the impact of the virus.

“I am proud to announce that the remaining Miami Beach area has been cleared of any ongoing active transmission of the Zika virus," Scott said at a press conference on Friday, held on the rooftop of the Betsy Hotel in South Beach.

However, although that area of Miami Beach is now free of its “red zone" designation, which means that federal officials are no longer urging pregnant women to avoid travel to the area, Miami-Dade County as a whole remains in a yellow zone, which means caution, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

“Florida’s rapid response and comprehensive mosquito control program has allowed them to interrupt Zika transmission,” said Frieden, in a statement. But, he added, “Pregnant women who live or have been to this area should continue to be evaluated for Zika exposure during their prenatal visits to prevent the devastating effects Zika can cause in their infants.”

The Zika virus is considered especially dangerous because it can result in pregnant women delivering babies with serious brain damage.

The 28-block area that includes South Beach was the last remaining “red zone” in Florida. The designation had previously been lifted from other parts of Miami Beach and Miami, including Little River and Wynwood, had already been lifted.

Although the severity of the impact varied, Miami Beach and tourism officials acknowledged that the presence of Zika had taken an economic toll.

“I know business had been down so I hope today’s announcement will spur everybody into getting on a plane and come down here,” State Rep. David Richardson said.

Officials have acknowledged it was the coming of cool weather, along with mosquito eradication efforts, that results in the elimination of homegrown infection.

“I’m ecstatic that we’ve reached this stage but there is a concern that (Zika) will come back in the summer so we have to be vigilant,” said Richardson.

Scott also warned against complacency, noting that the virus could return next year, when the hotter weather returns. But then also, he noted, the state will be better prepared.

“This is something we have more knowledge about,” said Scott. “We know that people will continue to come here, and bring in Zika, but we have also learned that there are ways to prevent it,” he said.

“When 2017 comes, we’ve just got to have a vaccine,” Scott stressed.

Although the areas of local transmission in Florida have been eliminated, Zika still remains in the U.S., the CDC says.

As of Dec. 8, a total of 4,575 cases of Zika have been reported in the continental United States and Hawaii, the CDC says.

These cases include 185 homegrown Zika cases in Florida, 38 cases believed to be the result of sexual transmission, and one case that was the result of a laboratory exposure, the agency added.