Two Lake County residents are among the 144 who have died in Florida as a result of the Coronavirus.
The deaths were announced on a day where the number of cases in the state soared past 9,000. It isn’t clear where the victims lived in Lake County but they have been identified as a 74-year-old woman who recently traveled to Europe and tested positive on March 25 and an 86-year-old man who tested positive on Wednesday, April 1. It’s unknown if he had traveled recently.
All told, 181 people have tested positive for the virus in the tri-county area, with 22 of them living in Ocala and at least 45 of them residing in The Villages. They are among the 2,963 who have been tested in Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. Of those, 2,777 have tested negative, six have come back inconclusive and 199 people are awaiting tests.
Marion County is reporting 33 positive test results. Those patients – 18 women and 15 men – range in age from 19 to 88 and include one non-resident, a 38-year-old woman who recently spent time in New York.
Six of the Marion County patients live in Summerfield but it’s not clear if they reside in The Villages or the surrounding retirement communities of Del Webb Spruce Creek, Stonecrest or Spruce Creek South.
Sixty-six people – all residents – have tested positive in Sumter County, which contains the vast majority of homes in The Villages. Those patients, seven of whom aren’t county residents, are comprised of 36 men and 30 women and they range in age from 18 to 92. Twenty-one of them remain hospitalized.
Lake County continues to lead the tri-county area with the most positive results at 82. The 43 women and 39 men range in age from 18 to 86 and 14 of them are still hospitalized.
UF Health also claims to have tested 2,280 patients at a drive-up site at The Villages Polo Fields last week. The healthcare agency reported that 23 patients with symptoms tested positive and two without were suffering from the virus. It doesn’t appear that those numbers, mostly gathered for research purposes, are included in the state-backed statistics that are released twice a day.
Statewide, 9,008 have tested positive for COVID-19, with 8,694 being residents. A total of 80,385 have been tested in Florida, with 71,348 coming back negative and 29 inconclusive. As of late Thursday, 1,389 people were awaiting testing and 1,167 patients were hospitalized.