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Ocala
Thursday, March 28, 2024

6 more local COVID-19 deaths as cases of deadly virus rise at alarming rate

Six more local residents have succumbed to COVID-19 as new cases of the deadly virus continued to rise rapidly on Christmas Eve across the tri-county area and Florida.

Five of the latest fatalities lived in Marion County, while the sixth one was a resident of Lake County. They are among the 849 deaths in the tri-county area, the 21,295 across the state and the 328,095 across the country who have lost the battle with the fast-spreading virus.

Locally, Marion County is reporting 16,595 cases – an increase of 159 in a 24-hour period. There have been 445 deaths and 1,289 people hospitalized.

Ocala continues to lead Marion County with 12,519 COVID-19 cases – an overnight increase of 107. Those cases account for 75.4 percent of all of those being reported across Marion County.

Other COVID-19 cases in the county have been reported in Summerfield (938), Dunnellon (712), Belleview (654), Citra (284), Silver Springs (284), Ocklawaha (251), Reddick (146), Fort McCoy (140), Anthony (125), Weirsdale (115), The Villages (58), Flemington (34), Salt Springs (28), McIntosh (15), Candler (14), Orange Lake (14), Sparr (12), Lowell (9), Morriston (6), East Lake (5), Orange Springs (5) and Fairfield (4).

Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:

TRI-COUNTY AREA

  • Cases: 35,532 – increase of 445
  • Deaths: 849
  • Hospitalizations: 2,634

LAKE COUNTY

  • Cases: 14,280 – increase of 218
  • Deaths: 287
  • Hospitalizations: 973
  • Cities with most cases: Clermont (3,785), Leesburg (2,251), Eustis (1,145), Tavares (1,105) and Mount Dora (1,104).

SUMTER COUNTY

  • Cases: 4,657 – increase of 68
  • Deaths: 117
  • Hospitalizations: 372
  • Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (1,867), Coleman (730), Wildwood (640), Bushnell (515) and Oxford (261).

All told, Florida is reporting 1,247,546 cases – an increase of 13,147 from Wednesday to Thursday. Of those, 1,226,530 are residents. A total of 62,868 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 27,059 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 21,295 deaths and 61,100 people have been hospitalized.