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Ocala
Thursday, March 28, 2024

8 more local COVID-19 deaths as tri-county area surpasses milestone in cases

Eight more local residents have succumbed to COVID-19 as the tri-county area surpassed 65,000 cumulative cases of the virus reported since March 2020.

Four of the latest fatalities were residents of Sumter County, three lived in the Marion County and the other was a resident of Lake County. They are among the 1,797 tri-county area deaths, the 34,306 in Florida and the 554,717 across the country, statistics from the Florida Department of Health and Johns Hopkins University show.

All told, Florida is reporting 2,077,032 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 5,927 from Friday to Saturday. Of those, 2,038,204 are residents. A total of 83,161 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,674 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 34,306 deaths and 85,678 people have been hospitalized.

Locally, Marion County is reporting 29,225 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 56 in a 24-hour period. There have been 926 deaths and 1,983 people have been hospitalized.

Ocala continues to pace Marion County with 21,395 cases – an overnight increase of 40. Others have been identified in Summerfield (1,827), Dunnellon (1,340), Belleview (1,277), Silver Springs (631), Citra (482), Ocklawaha (478), Reddick (302), Fort McCoy (300), Anthony (276), Weirsdale (230), The Villages (183), Salt Springs (49), Flemington (34), McIntosh (30), Orange Lake (24), Sparr (22), Lowell (19), Candler (19), East Lake (11), Fairfield (8) and Orange Springs (8).

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

TRI-COUNTY AREA

  • Cases: 65,001 – increase of 143
  • Deaths: 1,797
  • Hospitalizations: 3,963

LAKE COUNTY

  • Cases: 26,924 – increase of 62
  • Deaths: 610
  • Hospitalizations: 1,421
  • Vaccinations: 125,388 (76,723 both doses)
  • Cities with most cases: Clermont (7,084), Leesburg (4,092), Eustis (2,368), Mount Dora (2,013) and Tavares (1,900).

SUMTER COUNTY

  • Cases: 8,852 – increase of 25
  • Deaths: 261
  • Hospitalizations: 559
  • Vaccinations: 75,651 (53,844 both doses)
  • Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (4,149), Wildwood (1,022), Bushnell (954), Coleman (843) and Oxford (507).