On a day when two tri-county residents died of COVID-19 and 431 new cases were reported across the tri-county area – 35 of which are in The Villages – a top Villages Health official reported that hospitalizations connected to the deadly virus are on the rise at the area’s two local hospital.
Dr. Jeffrey Lowenkron, who serves as chief medical officer for The Villages Developer-owned medical group, said the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized has been rapidly climbing and now stands at 50 – 25 at UF Health The Villages Hospital and another 25 at UF Health Leesburg Hospital. Of those, Lowenkron said in a message to Villages Health patients, 14 are in intensive care and three are on ventilators.
Lowenkron said that as of Dec. 4, he was aware of 356 cases among The Villages Health’s almost 60,000 patients. Of those, he said 75 were hospitalized and eight had died. In addition, he added, 22 Villages Health employees were diagnosed with the virus but all have returned to work after completing the necessary quarantined period.
Lowenkron also said The Villages Health has been running rapid testing with support from the state using Abbott Labs Binax tests supplied by the federal government. To date, he said, the healthcare agency is approaching 4,000 tests run, with an overall positive rate of more than 7 percent and peak day testing at 13 percent. He said another 5,000 test kits were recently delivered so the free testing will continue.
Those wishing to be tested don’t have to be Villages Health patients. Testing takes place at the healthcare provider’s Brownwood and Creekside care centers and are offered by online appointments at www.tvhcovidtest.com on a first come, first served basis.
Locally, one of the most recent COVID-19-related fatalities occurred in Marion County and the other one was in Lake County. That brought the total number of deaths in the tri-county area to 771 since the pandemic hit the state in March.
On Tuesday, 73 new cases were reported in and around The Villages. Those include:
- The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up 35 for a total of 1,456;
- Summerfield up 11 for a total of 680;
- Belleview up 9 for a total of 552;
- Leesburg up 4 for a total of 1,852;
- Lady Lake portion of Sumter County up 4 for a total of 63;
- Oxford up 3 for a total of 189;
- Wildwood up 2 for a total of 560;
- Lady Lake up 2 for a total of 561; and
- Fruitland Park up 2 for a total of 271.
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 29,448 – increase of 431
- Deaths: 101
- Hospitalizations: 339
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 3,802 – increase of 57
- Deaths: 101
- Hospitalizations: 339
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (1,331), Coleman (725), Wildwood (560), Bushnell (460) and Oxford (189).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 11,524 – increase of 223
- Deaths: 262
- Hospitalizations: 895
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (3,049), Leesburg (1,852), Tavares (970), Eustis (948) and Mount Dora (885). The Villages is up 68 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 14,122 – increase of 151
- Deaths: 408
- Hospitalizations: 1,202
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (10,864), Summerfield (680), Dunnellon (558), Belleview (552) and Citra (247). The Villages is up 57 cases.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,073,770 cases – an increase of 7,985 from Monday to Tuesday. Of those, 1,056,065 are residents. A total of 58,158 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 25,927 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 19,627 deaths and 56,906 people have been hospitalized.