As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to promise Wednesday that Florida residents 65 and older will be the priority for COVID-19 vaccines once healthcare workers and long-term care residents are inoculated, four more local residents lost their battle with the deadly virus and the state saw a significant spike in the number of new cases.
DeSantis was in The Villages on Tuesday making the same promise to go against a suggestion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would place the priority on residents 75 and older and essential workers rather than those 65 and above. He cited the example of a 22-year-old food service worker possibly getting a vaccine over a 74-year-old grandmother if Florida followed the recommended CDC guideline.
“Our vaccines are going to be targeted for our elderly population,” he promised Tuesday during his press conference at UF Health The Villages Hospital. “We are not going to put young healthy workers ahead of our elderly vulnerable population.”
On Wednesday, the tri-county area reported four more fatalities from the virus – three in Marion County and one in Sumter County. Those victims are among the 843 in the local area, the 21,173 across Florida and the 324,674 across the country.
Locally, Marion County is reporting 16,436 cases – an increase of 139 in a 24-hour period. There have been 440 deaths and 1,282 people have been hospitalized.
Ocala continues to pace Marion County with 12,412 COVID-19 cases – an overnight increase of 97. Others have been identified in Summerfield (926), Dunnellon (698), Belleview (647), Citra (283), Silver Springs (282), Ocklawaha (247), Reddick (144), Fort McCoy (137), Anthony (122), Weirsdale (115), The Villages (58), Flemington (34), Salt Springs (28), McIntosh (15), Candler (14), Orange Lake (14), Sparr (12), Lowell (8), Morriston (6), East Lake (5), Orange Springs (4) and Fairfield (4).
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 35,087 – increase of 393
- Deaths: 843
- Hospitalizations: 2,620
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 14,062 – increase of 199
- Deaths: 286
- Hospitalizations: 970
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (3,731), Leesburg (2,216), Eustis (1,133), Mount Dora (1,089) and Tavares (1,087).
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 4,589 – increase of 55
- Deaths: 117
- Hospitalizations: 368
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (1,829), Coleman (729), Wildwood (632), Bushnell (508) and Oxford (257).
All told, Florida is reporting 1,234,399 cases – an increase of 11,384 from Tuesday to Wednesday. Of those, 1,213,760 are residents. A total of 62,492 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 26,943 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 21,173 deaths and 60,800 people have been hospitalized.