Two more tri-county residents have lost the battle against COVID-19 as more new cases were identified in The Villages and Marion County reported an increase of 347 new patients in a 24-hour period.

The two fatalities were identified by the Florida Department of Health as:

  • 79-year-old Marion County man from Ocala who tested positive July 7, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with someone else suffering from the virus; and
  • 90-year-old Lake County woman who tested positive July 22.

Fifteen new cases have been reported in The Villages, bringing the total in the mega-retirement community to 380. The overwhelming majority of those – 353 – are in the Sumter County portion of the community. Twenty-four are in the Lake County section of the community and three are in the Marion County portion of the sprawling retirement mecca.

Thirty-two new cases also have been reported in areas located just outside the boundaries of Florida’s Friendliest Hometown. Those include:

  • Leesburg up 13 for a total of 645;
  • Belleview up five for a total of 171;
  • Wildwood up four for a total of 166;
  • Summerfield up four for a total of 194;
  • Lady Lake up three for a total of 151; and
  • Fruitland Park up three for a total of 72.

Overall, the tri-county area is reporting 9,215 cases – an increase of 462 from Monday to Tuesday – among 4,124 men, 4,948 women, 48 non-residents and 95 people listed as unknown. There have been 127 deaths and 696 people have been hospitalized.

Sumter County now has 1,028 cases – an increase of 25 in a 24-hour period – among 553 men, 461 women, eight non-residents and six people listed as unknown. There have been 27 deaths and 146 people have been seen in area hospitals.

Bushnell is reporting 201 cases – 127 of which are at the Sumter Correctional Institution among 103 inmates and 24 staff members. Others have been identified in Oxford (70), Lake Panasoffkee (56), Webster (42), Coleman (37), Center Hill (30), Lady Lake portion of the county (23) and Sumterville (16). The federal prison in Coleman also is reporting 389 cases among 312 inmates and 77 staff members.

Lake County is reporting 4,259 cases – an increase of 90. Those are comprised of 1,980 men, 2,181 women, 31 non-residents and 67 people listed as unknown. There have been 49 deaths and 212 people have been hospitalized.

Clermont continues to pace Lake County with 1,067 cases – an increase of 22 in 24 hours. Others have been identified in Tavares (549), Eustis (355), Groveland (308), Mount Dora (276), Mascotte (150), Minneola (121), Sorrento (110), Montverde (78), Umatilla (78), Grand Island (42), Howey-in-the-Hills (32), Astatula (24), Astor (23), Yalaha (18), Altoona (17), Paisley (13), Okahumpka (11), Ferndale (4) and Mount Plymouth (3).

Marion County is now reporting 3,928 cases. It’s unclear when all of those new patients tested positive for the Coronavirus, but delayed reporting by some labs across the state dealing with an influx of new tests could have contributed to such a large increase.

The Marion County cases are comprised of 1,591 men, 2,306 women, nine non-residents and 22 people listed as unknown. There have been 51 deaths and 338 people have required some form of hospital care.

The overwhelming majority of Marion County cases – 3,019 – have been reported in Ocala, which saw an increase of 328 overnight. Others have been identified in Dunnellon (124), Citra (49), Silver Springs (48), Reddick (47), Ocklawaha (40), Weirsdale (25), Anthony (23), Fort McCoy (12), Orange Lake (7), Candler (3), East Lake (3), Lowell (3), Sparr (2), Morriston (1) and Salt Springs (1). A total of 179 cases have been reported among inmates (158) and staff members (21) at Lowell Correctional Institution and Marion Correctional Institution.

All told, Florida is reporting 441,977 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 9,230 from Monday to Tuesday. Of those, 436,867 are residents. There have been 6,240 deaths and 24,917 people have been hospitalized across the Sunshine State. Those numbers show 191 more deaths since Monday and an additional 585 people requiring hospital care.