Two more local residents have lost their battle with COVID-19 as Florida saw another day of significant increases in new cases of the virus and the tri-county area hit another milestone by surpassing 66,000 cumulative cases of the potentially deadly illness.
One of the latest fatalities was a resident of Sumter County – where the vast majority of Villages homes are located – and the other one was in Lake Couty. They are among the 1,821 tri-county area deaths, the 34,676 in Florida and the 561,074 across the country, according to the Florida Department of Health and Johns Hopkins University.
All told, Florida is reporting 2,118,713 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 6,906 from Friday to Saturday. Of those, 2,078,784 are residents. A total of 83,558 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,799 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 34,676 deaths and 86,894 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, Marion County is reporting 29,555 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 48 in a 24-hour period. There have been 937 deaths and 2,204 people have been hospitalized.
Ocala continues to pace Marion County with 21,621 cases – an overnight increase of 28. Others have been identified in Summerfield (1,848), Dunnellon (1,357), Belleview (1,296), Silver Springs (640), Ocklawaha (485), Citra (483), Fort McCoy (306), Reddick (303), Anthony (279), Weirsdale (239), 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: 66,083 – increase of 173
- Deaths: 1,821
- Hospitalizations: 4,040
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 27,557 – increase of 110
- Deaths: 620
- Hospitalizations: 1,453
- Vaccinations: 138,724 (87,308 both doses)
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (7,276), Leesburg (4,172), Eustis (2,427), Mount Dora (2,048) and Tavares (1,935).
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 8,971 – increase of 15
- Deaths: 264
- Hospitalizations: 563
- Vaccinations: 77,990 (59,861 both doses)
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (4,176), Wildwood (1,040), Bushnell (973), Coleman (849) and Oxford (512).