COVID-19 has claimed 15 more tri-county residents – including a 100-year-old Lake County woman – as 71 new cases of the virus were identified at a local long-term care facility.

Two of the latest fatalities were from Lake County and the other 13 were residents of Marion County. They were identified Saturday by the Florida Department of Health as:

  • 100-year-old Lake County woman who tested positive Aug. 11, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with someone else suffering from the virus;
  • 88-year-old Lake County man who tested positive Aug. 2, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 70-year-old Marion County man who tested positive June 24, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 88-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive July 17, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 58-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive July 19,  hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 80-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive July 24, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 74-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive July 24, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 69-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Aug. 2, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 75-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Aug. 3, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 83-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Aug. 9, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 93-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Aug. 10, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 89-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Aug. 11, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 82-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Aug. 11, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient;
  • 90-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive Aug. 14, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient; and
  • 94-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive Aug. 17, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient.

Another resident of Lady Lake Specialty Care also lost the battle against the Coronavirus, according to the Florida Department of Health. That marks the eighth patient to die of COVID-19 at the facility at 630 Griffin Ave., located just outside the Historic Side of The Villages.

COVID-19 also continues to wreak havoc on Cypress Care Center in Wildwood. On Saturday, the facility, located at 490 S. Old Wire Rd., reported 71 new cases among residents. No other information about those patients was provided in the Florida Department of Health report.

Thirty-six new COVID-19 cases were reported Saturday in The Villages and surrounding communities for a total of 2,831. Those include:

  • The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up five for a total of 500;
  • Wildwood up seven for a total of 321;
  • Summerfield up six for a total of 313;
  • Belleview up five for a total of 291;
  • Fruitland Park up four for a total of 124;
  • Leesburg up four for a total of 918;
  • Lady Lake up two for a total of 227;
  • Lady Lake portion of Sumter County up two for a total of 33; and
  • Oxford up one for a total of 104.

Below is a breakdown of COVID-19 activity in the local area:

TRI-COUNTY AREA

  • Cases: 15,634 – increase of 200
  • Deaths: 273
  • Hospitalizations: 1,233

SUMTER COUNTY

  • Cases: 1,704 – increase of 24
  • Age range of victims: 1 to 99
  • Median age: 58
  • Deaths: 46
  • Hospitalizations: 199
  • Area/cities with most cases: The Villages (471), Wildwood (321), Bushnell (262), Coleman (219) and Oxford (104)

LAKE COUNTY

  • Cases: 6,004 – increase of 57
  • Age range of victims: Under 1 to 103
  • Median age: 42
  • Deaths: 93 deaths
  • Hospitalizations: 351
  • Cities with most cases: Clermont (1,548), Leesburg (918), Tavares (672), Eustis (504) and Mount Dora (435)

MARION COUNTY

  • Cases: 7,926 – increase of 119
  • Age range of victims: Under 1 to 104
  • Median age: 41
  • Deaths: 134
  • Hospitalizations: 683
  • Cities with most cases: Ocala (6,261), Summerfield (313), Belleview (291), Dunnellon (253) and Citra (152)

All told, Florida is reporting 597,597 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 4,311 from Friday to Saturday. Of those, 591,283 are residents. There have been 10,411 deaths and 36,329 people have been hospitalized across the Sunshine State. Those numbers show 107 more deaths since Friday and an additional 332 people requiring hospital care.