A whopping 84 percent of Marion County’s Coronavirus cases have been identified in Ocala and Summerfield.
That’s according to the Florida Department of Health, which on Friday was reporting 218 cases of the potentially deadly virus in Marion County. The overwhelming majority – 159 – have been reported in Ocala.
Another 26 cases also were identified in Summerfield, though it remains unclear if any of those patients are residents of the retirement communities of Del Webb Spruce Creek, Stonecrest or Spruce Creek South. Other Marion County cases have been identified in Dunnellon (10), Citra (7), Belleview (6), Ocklawaha (4), Anthony (3), Reddick (2), Silver Springs (1) and The Villages (1).
Overall, six new Coronavirus patients were identified in the tri-county area on Friday as Florida surpassed 44,000 cases of the potentially deadly virus.
The area – Marion, Lake and Sumter counties – is reporting 717 Coronavirus cases among 387 men, 310 women and 20 non-residents. There have been 35 deaths and 136 people suffering from the virus have been hospitalized.
Sumter County, which contains the vast majority of Villages homes, now has 250 cases among 178 men, 69 women and three non-residents. There have been 16 deaths and 42 people have been hospitalized.
Of the Sumter County cases, 121 are in Bushnell, with all but three of those apparently being at the Sumter Correctional Institution (102 inmates and 16 staff members. The number of cases in The Villages has been lowered to 63 but the number in Oxford has increased to 13. Other cases in the county have been identified in Lake Panasoffkee (22), Wildwood (9), Webster (7), Lady Lake portion of the county (6), Sumterville (4) and Coleman (2). The federal prison in Coleman also is reporting four cases among two inmates and two staff members.
Lake County is reporting 249 cases among 116 men, 121 women and 12 non-residents. The have been 14 deaths and 63 people have required some form of hospital care.
The majority of the Lake County cases – 83 – are in Clermont. Seven are in The Villages portion of the county, while 10 have been reported in Lady Lake and two people have tested positive in Fruitland Park. Other Lake County cases have been identified in Leesburg (39), Eustis (20), Tavares (17), Groveland (16), Mount Dora (16), Mascotte (12), Minneola (6), Sorrento (3), Okahumpka (1), Umatilla (1), Howey-in-the-Hills (1), Montverde (1), Grand Island (1) and Yalaha (1).
All told, Florida is reporting 44,138 COVID-19 cases among 42,940 residents. That’s an increase of 928 cases since Thursday. There have been 1,917 deaths and 7,959 people have been hospitalized across the Sunshine State.