Twelve more local residents have succumbed to COVID-19 as Florida continued to see a post-spring break increase in new cases of the potentially deadly virus.
Seven of the latest fatalities were Lake County residents and five lived in Marion County. They are among the 1,820 tri-county area deaths, the 34,626 in Florida and the 560,946 across the country, statistics provided by the Florida Department of Health and Johns Hopkins University show.
All told, Florida is reporting 2,111,807 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 7,121 from Thursday to Friday. Of those, 2,072,053 are residents. A total of 83,521 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,780 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 86,706 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, Marion County is reporting 29,507 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 63 in a 24-hour period. There have been 938 deaths and 2,022 people have been hospitalized.
Ocala continues to pace Marion County with 21,593 cases – an overnight increase of 39. Others have been identified in Summerfield (1,841), Dunnellon (1,353), Belleview (1,296), Silver Springs (638), Ocklawaha (485), Citra (482), Fort McCoy (304), Reddick (303), Anthony (278), Weirsdale (237), The Villages (183), Salt Springs (49), Flemington (34), McIntosh (30), Orange Lake (25), Sparr (23), Lowell (19), Candler (19), East Lake (12), Fairfield (8) and Orange Springs (8).
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 65,910 – increase of 222
- Deaths: 1,820
- Hospitalizations: 4,033
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 27,447 – increase of 126
- Deaths: 619
- Hospitalizations: 1,449
- Vaccinations: 136,063 (84,805 both doses)
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (7,248), Leesburg (4,153), Eustis (2,416), Mount Dora (2,045) and Tavares (1,929).
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 8,956 – increase of 33
- Deaths: 263
- Hospitalizations: 562
- Vaccinations: 77,465 (58,787 both doses)
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (4,172), Wildwood (1,039), Bushnell (968), Coleman (849) and Oxford (513).