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The Villages
Thursday, March 28, 2024

COVID-19 precautions proving to be successful in The Villages

With recreation centers and pools about to reopen in some fashion, it’s safe to say that taking precautions against the Coronavirus like social distancing, washing your hands and wearing masks in public have never been more important.

Some may not believe the importance of those measures, but numbers don’t lie. If you take a look at the Coronavirus stats in The Villages over the past seven days, it’s easy to see that many residents are doing the right things. Yes, we know some have fractured the social distancing rules at Lake Sumter Landing – we’re told some in a big group almost earned a trip to jail recently – but we believe many residents have taken the COVID-19 pandemic seriously and are doing whatever they can to slow its spread.

Before we get into the numbers, let’s remember something very important. Seniors and those who are medically challenged are among the most susceptible to the virus. The last time we looked, that included the vast majority of residents who call The Villages home. So, when it comes to playing to safe, these residents have an even bigger stake in the game.

As of Friday night, there were 77 cases of the Coronavirus reported in The Villages. Most of those – 69 – were in Sumter County where the vast majority of homes in the mega-retirement community are located. Seven were reported in Lake County and one in the Marion County portion of The Villages.

From Thursday through this past Monday, the cases in The Villages stood at 76 – 68 in Sumter County, seven in Lake County and one in Marion County. Last Sunday, there were 75 cases in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown and on Saturday, April 18, there were 73 cases in the sprawling retirement community.

In comparison, Sumter County was reporting 167 cases on Friday night. That’s 23 more positive results than the county was reporting on April 18.
Similarly, Lake County reported 219 cases Friday night – up 16 from last Saturday. And Marion County’s 148 cases on Friday night were a marked jump from the 118 it was reporting a week ago.

To take it a step further, let’s remember that The Villages is home to about 130,000 people. That means that a miniscule percentage of the population is suffering from COVID-19 – a number that all residents should be proud of. It clearly proves that those who call The Villages home are doing some things right during the Coronavirus crisis.

In contrast, Ocala has reported 108 cases among a population of about 60,400. Bushnell has about 3,100 residents and 51 cases. And Clermont has about 37,000 residents and 77 cases.

If that’s not enough, consider this: Several cities in Florida with populations similar to The Villages have a much bigger COVID-19 problem than we’ve seen here.

Those include:

  • Hollywood – 151,056 residents with 1,202 cases;
  • Miramar – 138,168 residents with 298 cases;
  • Coral Springs – 131,151 residents with 173 cases;
  • Gainesville – 130,790 residents with 188 cases;
  • Lehigh Acres – 119,205 residents with 180 cases; and
  • Clearwater – 114,015 residents with 108 cases.

As we said earlier, Villagers should commend themselves for doing a great job on stemming the rise of COVID-19 in our community. But as we slowly start to get back to some semblance of normalcy with the opening of pools, recreation centers and eventually restaurants and other businesses, practicing social distancing and other precautionary measures will remain paramount to putting this pandemic behind us.

Sadly, we have had at least two deaths in our community – Carol Lynch and Debbie Butler. Some of our residents have suffered as they fought through this virus and others are still fighting the fight. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and we will have every one of them in our thoughts until this crisis is finally behind us.

That said, please do your part to stay safe. Watch out for your friends and neighbors. And continue to go the extra mile for those who need a helping hand right now.

Let’s all also remember that this community was founded by Harold Schwartz and his son, H. Gary Morse, on a can-do attitude. Villagers come from all walks of life and have shown over the years that they’re not afraid of challenges. That kind of moxie has never been more important than it is today and it will play a huge part in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown emerging from this nightmare and eventually returning to the lifestyle residents worked so hard for so many years to enjoy.

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