An employee of Freedom Pointe in The Villages has tested positive for COVID-19 as another Marion County resident succumbed to the virus and the number of cases in the tri-county area increased by 16 in a 24-hour period.
The positive result at Freedom Pointe, located at 1700 El Camino Real, was identified Thursday afternoon. Specific information about the employee wasn’t provided by the Florida Department of Health, but it appears to be the first case reported at the large-scale Villages facility that offers independent living, assisted living and memory care, among other services.
The latest tri-county victim to succumb to the Coronavirus was identified as a 96-year-old woman from Ocala, where 195 COVID-19 cases have been reported. The woman, the eighth to die of the illness in Marion County, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with someone else suffering from the virus, according to a Florida Department of Health report.
As of Friday, the tri-county area was reporting 850 COVID-19 cases. Those were divided among 445 men, 384 women and 21 non-residents. They range in age from 6 months to 98. There have been 40 deaths and 160 people have been treated at area hospitals.
Sumter County is reporting 261 cases among 184 men, 76 women and one non-resident. There have been 17 deaths and 45 people have been hospitalized.
Of the total number of Sumter County cases, 68 are in The Villages, 17 are in Oxford, nine are in Wildwood and six are in the Lady Lake portion of the County. Another 122 have been reported in Bushnell, with all but one of those being at the Sumter Correctional Institution (105 inmates and 16 staff members). Other cases have been identified in Lake Panasoffkee (22), Webster (8), Sumterville (5) and Coleman (3). The federal prison in Coleman also has identified six cases among four staff members and two inmates.
Lake County is now reporting 317 cases. Those are comprised of 144 men, 158 women and 15 non-residents. There have been 15 deaths and 79 people have received some form of hospital care.
Of the Lake County cases, nine are in The Villages, 17 are in Lady Lake and six are in Fruitland Park. Others have been identified in Clermont (99), Leesburg (47), Eustis (31), Tavares (20), Mount Dora (18), Groveland (18), Mascotte (13), Minneola (6), Sorrento (4), Montverde (4), Howey-in-the-Hills (3), Altoona (2), Okahumpka (1), Umatilla (1), Grand Island (1), Paisley (1) and Yalaha (1).
Marion County increased by 11 cases Friday for a total of 272. Of those, 117 are men, 150 are women and five are non-residents. Thirty-six of those patients have been seen in area hospitals.
Nine of the newest COVID-19 cases in Marion County were identified in Ocala. Those include five women ages 61, 54, 44, 30 and 19; and four men ages 66, 54, 50 and 46. The other two patients were identified as a 70-year-old woman from Silver Springs and a 54-year-old woman from Ft. McCoy.
Besides the 195 cases in Ocala, 29 in Summerfield and at least one in The Villages portion of the county, other patients have been identified in Dunnellon (11), Citra (10), Belleview (9), Ocklawaha (4), Anthony (3), Reddick (2), Silver Springs (2) and Fort McCoy (1).
All told, Florida is reporting 61,488 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 1,305 in a 24-hour period. Of those, 58,701 are residents. There have been 2,660 deaths and 10,794 people have been hospitalized across the Sunshine State.
