The death toll from COVID-19 spiked again in the tri-county area on Tuesday as 29 more local residents lost their battle with the fast-spreading virus.
Twenty-one of the fatalities were in Lake County, while seven were in Sumter County and one was a resident of Marion County. It’s unclear if all of those deaths occurred in the past couple of days, as the Florida Department of Health frequently lags behind in reporting COVID-19 cases and deaths. The latest local victims are among the 1,375 in the tri-county area who have lost their battle with the virus, the 28,526 in Florida and the 466,535 across the country.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,790,743 cases – an increase of 7,023 from Monday to Tuesday. Of those, 1,758,254 are residents. A total of 78,574 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 30,161 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 28,526 deaths and 74,884 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, Marion County is reporting 25,670 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 132 in a 24-hour period. There have been 672 deaths abd 1,608 people have been hospitalized.
Ocala continues to pace Marion County with 18,969 cases – an overnight increase of 86. Others have been identified in Summerfield (1,616), Dunnellon (1,165), Belleview (1,084), Silver Springs (492), Citra (430), Ocklawaha (391), Reddick (264), Fort McCoy (239), Anthony (233), Weirsdale (200), The Villages (176), Salt Springs (46), Flemington (34), McIntosh (27), Sparr (21), Orange Lake (20), Lowell (18), Candler (17), Fairfield (8), East Lake (7), Orange Springs (7) and Morriston (5).
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 56,039 – increase of 301
- Deaths: 1,375
- Hospitalizations: 3,263
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 22,933 – increase of 133
- Deaths: 489
- Hospitalizations: 1,204
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (5,978), Leesburg (3,606), Eustis (2,050), Mount Dora (1,766) and Tavares (1,685).
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 7,436 – increase of 36
- Deaths: 214
- Hospitalizations: 451
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (3,466), Wildwood (891), Coleman (817), Bushnell (815) and Oxford (433).