A whopping 63 new deaths were reported from COVID-19 in the tri-county area on Saturday, marking the largest number of fatalities reported in a single day since the deadly virus was first identified in Florida in March.
It’s unclear if all of those deaths happened in the past day or if there has been a lag in reporting fatality numbers of the part of the Florida Department of Health. That agency has in the past run behind in reporting statistics in several categories, including the number of vaccinations given across the Sunshine State, so it’s possible that some of the latest victims have died over the past week or longer.
Thirty of the latest fatalities were reported in Sumter County, which is home to the vast majority of residences in The Villages. Another 28 were reported in Lake County and five were identified in Marion County. Those fatalities are among the 1,067 reported across the tri-county area, the 24,380 in Florida and the 393,264 across the country.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,560,186 cases – an increase of 12,119 from Friday to Saturday. Of those, 1,531,830 are residents. A total of 71,210 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 28,187 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 67,790 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, Marion County is reporting 22,030 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 242 in a 24-hour period. There have been 534 deaths and 1,450 people hospitalized.
Ocala continues to lead Marion County with 16,215 cases – an overnight increase of 167. Others have been identified in Summerfield (1,355), Dunnellon (982), Belleview (919), Citra (383), Silver Springs (380), Ocklawaha (317), Reddick (232), Fort McCoy (197), Anthony (197), Weirsdale (158), The Villages (62), Salt Springs (37), Flemington (34), McIntosh (22), Sparr (20), Orange Lake (18), Candler (17), Lowell (15), Morriston (6), Orange Springs (6), East Lake (6) and Fairfield (5).
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 47,601 – increase of 586
- Deaths: 1,067
- Hospitalizations: 2,953
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 19,208 – increase of 246
- Deaths: 377
- Hospitalizations: 1,080
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (5,009), Leesburg (3,093), Eustis (1,673), Mount Dora (1,456) and Tavares (1,410).
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 6,363 – increase of 98
- Deaths: 156
- Hospitalizations: 423
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (2,845), Coleman (807), Wildwood (781), Bushnell (688) and Oxford (377).