A patient has tested positive for the Coronavirus at UF Health The Villages Hospital.
Details about the patient haven’t been released but the local hospital is listed on a state-released report that includes the multitudes of medical facilities that have processed tests for patients from throughout the Sunshine State.
The person who tested positive at The Villages hospital could likely be among the 47 residents of the mega-retirement community who have been identified COVID-19 patients – a number that continues to rise on a daily basis. Those Villagers comprise 22 percent of the 210 patients – 105 men, 104 women and one unknown – in the tri-county area.
Forty-nine tri-county patients are hospitalized as they battle the COVID-19 virus. Five, including 84-year-old Village of Winifred resident Carol Lynch, have succumbed to the deadly virus. Lynch was a longtime active Villager who is being mourned by her daughters following her death on Thursday.
Sixty-seven of the tri-county patients reported traveling to a variety of foreign destinations recently, including Africa, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Caribbean, Egypt, Europe, Germany, Honduras, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain, St. Lucia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom.
They also reported visiting 18 states and many other destinations in Florida. Those other states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
So far, 73 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Sumter County, all among residents. The latest patients are an 81-year-old woman with an unknown travel history and a 52-year-old man and an 89-year-old woman, both of whom haven’t traveled recently.
Forty are men, 32 are women, one is listed as unknown and their ages range from 18 to 92. Twenty-five remain hospitalized and besides Lynch, an 83-year-old woman who tested positive on March 28 and a 68-year-old man who tested positive on March 23 have died as a result of the virus.
Besides the 41 who live in The Villages, some of those who have tested positive in Sumter County reside in Lake Panasoffkee (12), Bushnell (7), Wildwood (5), Webster (4) and the Lady Lake portion of the county (2).
Ninety-five people have tested positive in Lake County, with seven of them being non-residents. The new patients are a 68-year-old man with no recent travel history and five people whose travel history is unknown – a 32-year-old woman, a 73-year-old man, a 61-year-old woman and two 71-year-old men.
The Lake County patients – 46 men and 49 women – range in age from 18 to 86. Two patients, a 74-year-old woman who had traveled to Europe and an 86-year-old man with an unknown travel history, recently succumbed to the virus and 18 others remain hospitalized.
Besides the six patients who live in The Villages portion of Lake County and the four who call Lady Lake home, some of the others testing positive reside in Clermont (30), Leesburg (13), Tavares (7), Mount Dora (5), Groveland (5), Mascotte (5), Minneola (4), Sorrento (2) and Okahumpka (1).
In Marion County, 42 people have tested positive – 39 of whom are residents. The latest patients are a 37-year-old man who traveled to Georgia recently and a 49-year-old woman with no travel history. Overall, 23 are women, 19 are men and they range in age from 19 to 88. Six remain hospitalized.
Six of the Marion County patients live in Summerfield but it’s not clear if they reside in The Villages or the surrounding retirement communities of Del Webb Spruce Creek, Stonecrest or Spruce Creek South. The other Marion County patients reside in Ocala (28), Belleview (2), Ocklawaha (1), Dunnellon (1), Anthony (1).
So far, 892 people have been tested in Sumter County, with 818 negative results, one inconclusive result and 11 awaiting testing. In Lake County, 1,784 people have been tested, with 1,685 coming back negative, four inconclusive and nine awaiting testing. Marion County is reporting 941 people tested, 899 negative and 175 waiting to be tested.
All told, Florida is reporting 11,545 cases of COVID-19, with 11,173 of those patients being residents of the Sunshine State. There have been 195 deaths and 1,470 remain hospitalized.
