Seven more local residents have died of COVID-19 as new cases of the deadly virus continued to be reported Saturday at a rapid clip.

Five of the latest fatalities were in Sumter County and the other two were residents of Lake County. They are among the 830 people who have died in the tri-county area and the 20,764 who have lost the battle with COVID-19 across the state.

It’s been a difficult week for Florida with 76,192 new cases of the virus reported. Thursday marked the high point with 13,148 new positive results.

The tri-county area saw an increase of 2,655 cases this past week. The most – 521 – also were reported on Thursday.

On Saturday, a total of 110 new COVID-19 cases were reported in and around The Villages. Those include:

The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up 26 for a total of 1,808;

  • Leesburg up 33 for a total of 2,119;
  • Summerfield up 17 for a total of 849;
  • Lady Lake up 15 for a total of 713;
  • Fruitland Park up 9 for a total of 348;
  • Wildwood up 4 for a total of 606;
  • Oxford up 3 for a total of 240; and
  • Belleview up 3 for a total of 626.

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

TRI-COUNTY AREA

  • Cases: 33,522 – increase of 405
  • Deaths: 830
  • Hospitalizations: 2,564

SUMTER COUNTY

  • Cases: 4,457 – increase of 44
  • Deaths: 114
  • Hospitalizations: 364
  • Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (1,672), Coleman (728), Wildwood (606), Bushnell (499) and Oxford (240).

LAKE COUNTY

  • Cases: 13,341 – increase of 184
  • Deaths: 285
  • Hospitalizations: 942
  • Cities with most cases: Clermont (3,538), Leesburg (2,119), Eustis (1,086), Tavares (1,045) and Mount Dora (1,043). The Villages also is reporting 78 cases.

MARION COUNTY

  • Cases: 15,824 – increase of 177
  • Deaths: 431
  • Hospitalizations: 1,258
  • Cities with most cases: Ocala (12,009), Summerfield (849), Dunnellon (661), Belleview (626) and Citra (277). The Villages also is reporting 58 cases.

All told, Florida is reporting 1,193,165 cases – an increase of 11,682 from Friday to Saturday. Of those, 1,173,409 are residents. A total of 61,433 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 26,534 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 20,764 deaths and 59,851 people have been hospitalized.