Two more Sumter County residents have died as a result of the Coronavirus, bringing the death toll to five in the county containing the vast majority of Villages homes.
The latest victims of the deadly virus are an 85-year-old man who tested positive on March 25 and an 83-year-old man who tested positive on March 30. It’s not clear if they are Villages residents, as the Florida Department of Health only releases the county where they lived.
As of Monday night, at least 49 Villages residents in Sumter and Lake Counties had tested positive for the Coronavirus. It’s unclear if any of the 10 patients in Summerfield who have tested positive live in The Villages or any of the surrounding retirement communities – Del Webb Spruce Creek, Stonecrest or Spruce Creek South – in Marion County.
The two new deaths in Sumter County bring the total in tri-county area to nine. One has been identified as 84-year-old Village of Winifred resident Carol Lynch, who died Thursday night at UF Health The Villages Hospital. The others include:
- A 68-year-old Sumter County man who tested positive March 23 and hadn’t traveled recently;
- An 83-year-old Sumter County woman who tested positive March 28 and hadn’t traveled recently;
- A 74-year-old Lake County woman who tested positive March 25 and had recently traveled to Europe;
- An 86-year-old Lake County man who tested positive April 1 and has an unknown travel history;
- An 88-year-old Marion County man who tested positive March 27 and had recently traveled to Germany; and
- A 58-year-old Marion County man tested positive April 1 and hadn’t traveled recently.
Lynch also hadn’t traveled recently. Her daughter, Shannon Lynch, of Cohassett, Mass., believes her mother contracted the virus in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
“She did everything in The Villages,” she said.
As of Monday night, 81 Sumter County residents had tested positive for the virus. The patients – 45 men, 35 women and one listed as unknown – range in age from 18 to 92 and 26 remain hospitalized.
Besides the 43 living in The Villages, those who tested positive in Sumter County reside in Lake Panasoffkee (16), Bushnell (7), Webster (6), Wildwood (5), Coleman (1) and Sumterville (1). Two patients also live in the Lady Lake portion of the county.
Lake County leads the way in the tri-county area with the most COVID-19 patients at 107 – 93 of whom are residents. Forty-eight are men, 59 are women and they range in age from 17 to 86. Twenty-six remain hospitalized.
Besides the six patients who live in The Villages portion of Lake County and the five who call Lady Lake home, some of the others testing positive reside in Clermont (33), Leesburg (15), Tavares (10), Groveland (6), Eustis (6), Mount Dora (6), Mascotte (5), Minneola (4), Sorrento (2) and Okahumpka (1).
Marion County is reporting 55 cases, with three of those being non-residents. They – 22 men and 33 women – range in age from 19 to 88 and six remain hospitalized.
Besides the 10 patients who live Summerfield, the other Marion County residents testing positive reside in Ocala (34), Belleview (3), Dunnellon (2), Ocklawaha (1), Silver Springs (1) and Anthony (1).
All told, 13,629 people have tested positive for the virus in Florida, with 13,214 of them being residents of the Sunshine State. There have been 254 deaths and 1,719 remain hospitalized.
