Two more tri-county residents have succumbed to COVID-19 as the virus continues to slam long-term care facilities across the local area.
The latest fatalities were identified Sunday by the Florida Department of Health as:
- 76-year-old Marion County man who tested positive July 5, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with someone else suffering from the virus; and
- 65-year-old Lake County woman who tested positive July 22, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient.
Thirty-nine more COVID-19 cases also have been reported at three local long-term care facilities in the past four days. Those include:
- Lady Lake Specialty Care, 630 Griffin Ave. (one additional resident for a total of 18 and eight additional residents who transferred out for a total of 10. In addition, the number of staff members who tested positive at the facility was reduced from 31 to 20);
- Cypress Care Center, 490 S. Old Wire Rd. in Wildwood (nine additional residents for a total of 16, two additional residents who transferred out for a total of six and 10 additional employees for a total of 16); and
- Trinity Springs, 12120 County Road 103 in Oxford (two additional residents for a total of 10, one additional resident who transferred out for a total of one and six additional employees for a total of 14).
Eight new cases also have been reported in The Villages – seven in the fast-growing Sumter County portion of the community and one in the Marion County portion of the sprawling retirement mecca. That brings the total in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown to 361. Of those, the vast majority – 336 – have been reported in Sumter County, with 22 in Lake County and three in Marion County.
Thirty-eight new cases also were reported Sunday in communities just outside the confines of The Villages. Those include:
- Leesburg up 17 for a total of 620;
- Wildwood up eight for a total of 159;
- Summerfield up five for a total of 188;
- Belleview up four for a total of 165;
- Lady Lake up two for a total of 146;
- Fruitland Park up one for a total of 67; and
- Oxford up one for a total of 70.
Overall, the tri-county area is reporting 8,508 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 328 from Saturday to Sunday – among 3,972 men, 4,395 women, 49 non-residents and 92 people listed as unknown. There have been 113 deaths and 651 people have been hospitalized.
Sumter County now has 992 cases – an increase of 24 in a 24-hour period – among 534 men, 446 women, eight non-residents and four people listed as unknown. There have been 25 deaths and 137 people have required some form of hospital care.
Bushnell is reporting 199 cases, with 127 of those at the Sumter Correctional Institution among 103 inmates and 24 staff members. Others have been identified in Lake Panasoffkee (52), Webster (40), Coleman (34), Center Hill (29), Lady Lake portion of the county (24) and Sumterville (15). The federal prison in Coleman also is reporting 386 cases among 311 inmates and 75 staff members.
Lake County continues to pace the local area with 4,090 cases – an increase of 102 in 24 hours – among 1,907 men, 2,089 women, 32 non-residents and 62 people listed as unknown. There have been 39 deaths and 190 people have been hospitalized.
Clermont continues to lead Lake County with 1,031 cases, while Tavares is reporting 533 – 23 of which are at the Lake County Jail among one inmate, 20 staff members and two contracted nurses. Others have been identified in Eustis (342), Groveland (280), Mount Dora (263), Mascotte (148), Minneola (116), Sorrento (106), Montverde (77), Umatilla (74), Grand Island (39), Howey-in-the-Hills (32), Astor (23), Astatula (21), Yalaha (18), Altoona (16), Paisley (13), Okahumpka (11), Ferndale (4) and Mount Plymouth (3).
Marion County increased by 202 cases for a total of 3,426. Those are comprised of 1,531 men, 1,860 women, nine non-residents and 26 people listed as unknown. There have been 49 deaths and 324 people have been seen in area hospitals.
The overwhelming majority of Marion County cases – 2,548 – are in Ocala, which saw an increase of 172 overnight. Others have been identified in Dunnellon (121), Citra (48), Silver Springs (45), Reddick (43), Ocklawaha (40), Weirsdale (25), Anthony (21), Fort McCoy (10), Orange Lake (6), Candler (3), East Lake (3), Lowell (3), Sparr (2) and Morriston (1). A total of 209 cases have been identified among inmates at the Marion County Jail and 153 cases have been reported among inmates (132) and staff members (21) at Lowell Correctional Institution and Marion Correctional Institution.
All told, Florida is reporting 423,855 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 9,344 from Saturday to Sunday. Of those, 418,844 are residents. There have been 5,971 deaths and 24,064 people have been hospitalized across the Sunshine State. Those numbers show 77 more deaths since Saturday and an additional 334 people requiring hospital care.
