Fifty-five people have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in the tri-county area, with Lake and Sumter counties clearly leading the way.
Sumter County now has 24 residents suffering from the Coronavirus. Thirteen of the patients are men – including 67-year-old Village of Monarch Grove resident Tony Perry – and 11 are women. They range in age from 18 to 92, with an average age of 66. Fourteen of the cases have been deemed travel related while four are not and six are unknown. Nine of the patients are currently hospitalized.
The Sumter County number has increased since Wednesday by six patients, which possibly can be attributed to a testing facility that opened Monday in The Villages at the polo fields. That facility is expected to stay open at least through Friday and was designed to collect 2,000 test samples – the overwhelming majority of which will be used by the University of Florida for research.
Lake County is reporting 26 cases of the Coronavirus, 23 of whom are residents. Twelve are men and 14 are women. They include a resident of the Lady Lake Mobile Home Park and according to Lake County Commission Chairman Leslie Campione, at least one Villager. They range in age from 21 to 85, with an average age of 55. Ten are travel related, six are not and 10 remain unknown. Seven also are hospitalized.
Marion County is holding steady with five patients – two men and three women. They range in age from 40 to 68, with an average age of 54. Four are travel related, the other is unknown and none are currently hospitalized.
All told, 2,484 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in Florida – 2,359 residents and 125 non-Sunshine State residents. Twenty-nine people have died from the virus and 1,698 are being monitored.
