Florida is preparing to drop the age to 60 for those wishing to obtain COVID-19 vaccines but the death toll from the virus across the local area and the state continues to rise.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Florida was reporting 32,481 COVID-19-related deaths – an increase of 132 in a 24-hour period. Nine of those deaths were in Marion County and are among the 1,686 in the tri-county area and the 527,389 across the country, Florida Health Department and Johns Hopkins University statistics show.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this week that the eligibility age for COVID-19 vaccinations would drop to 60 on Monday, March 15. He also hinted that it could drop to 55 in the near future depending on how many doses of the vaccination the state receives in the coming weeks.
The governor said the decision to lower the age requirement was a result of a softening demand for the vaccine among seniors in Florida. He said more than 2.6 million seniors – about 56 percent of the state’s senior population – had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,952,733 cases – an increase of 4,426 from Monday to Tuesday. Of those, 1,916,774 are residents. A total of 81,728 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,128 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 81,331 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, Marion County is reporting 28,147 new COVID-19 cases – an increase of 39 in a 24-hour period. There have been 867 deaths and 1,809 people have required some form of hospital care.
Ocala continues to lead Marion County with 20,663 cases – an overnight increase of 23. Others have been identified in Summerfield (1,753), Dunnellon (1,270), Belleview (1,219), Silver Springs (599), Citra (472), Ocklawaha (454), Fort McCoy (285), Reddick (284), Anthony (266), Weirsdale (220), The Villages (181), Salt Springs (49), Flemington (34), McIntosh (29), Sparr (22), Orange Lake (22), Lowell (19), Candler (18), East Lake (11), Fairfield (8), Orange Springs (8) and Morriston (6).
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 61,626 – increase of 120
- Deaths: 242
- Hospitalizations: 519
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 25,252 – increase of 60
- Deaths: 577
- Hospitalizations: 1,328
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (6,614), Leesburg (3,887), Eustis (2,228), Mount Dora (1,903) and Tavares (1,834).
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 8,227 – increase of 21
- Deaths: 242
- Hospitalizations: 519
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (3,912), Wildwood (964), Bushnell (868), Coleman (831) and Oxford (466).