Three more local residents have lost their battle with COVID-19 as Gov. Ron DeSantis battled with the federal government over allowing Florida-based cruise ships to start sailing again.
Two of the latest fatalities were in Marion County and the other one was in Sumter County. They are among the 1,760 COVID-19-related deaths in the tri-county area, the 33,783 in Florida and the 548,664 across the country.
DeSantis spoke at Port Canaveral on Friday while appearing alongside officials from Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Disney cruise lines. He and Attorney General Ashley Moody suggested that legal action could come soon if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t lighten its grip on one of Florida’s biggest tourism industries by the summer.
DeSantis said the year-old ban on United States-based cruises is damaging Florida’s economy, which typically benefits to the tune of billions of dollars generated by cruise lines. Florida largely is known as the cruise capital of the United States, with extremely busy ports in Port Canaveral, Miami and Port Everglades in South Florida.
DeSantis pointed out that cruise lines have been allowed to reopen in other countries and many people are flying to the Bahamas to board ships. He also said that with testing and vaccines becoming more and more available – all adults in Florida will be eligible to get vaccines starting April 5 – taking a cruise doesn’t present any more danger than air and train travel.
All told, Florida is reporting 2,039,062 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 5,883 from Friday to Saturday. Of those, 2,001,325 are residents. A total of 82,829 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,532 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 84,561 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, Marion County is reporting 28,889 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 58 in a 24-hour period. There have been 916 deaths and 1,957 people have been hospitalized. A total of 92,184 people have been vaccinated, with 55,350 receiving both doses.
Ocala continues to pace Marion County with 21,160 cases – an overnight increase of 40. Others have been identified in Summerfield (1,803), Dunnellon (1,318), Belleview (1,257), Silver Springs (619), Citra (481), Ocklawaha (471), Reddick (300), Fort McCoy (298), Anthony (275), Weirsdale (225), The Villages (181), Salt Springs (49), Flemington (34), McIntosh (30), Orange Lake (23), Sparr (22), Lowell (19), Candler (19), 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: 64,037 – increase of 159
- Deaths: 1,760
- Hospitalizations: 3,911
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 26,418 – increase of 64
- Deaths: 600
- Hospitalizations: 1,405
- Vaccinations: 115,782 (65,117 both doses)
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (6,944), Leesburg (4,018), Eustis (2,331), Mount Dora (1,973) and Tavares (1,882).
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 8,730 – increase of 37
- Deaths: 244
- Hospitalizations: 549
- Vaccinations: 73,308 (46,350 both doses)
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (4,116), Wildwood (1,002), Bushnell (932), Coleman (839) and Oxford (498).