The death toll from COVID-19 spiked again in the tri-county area on Tuesday as 29 more local residents lost their battle with the fast-spreading virus.
Twenty-one of the fatalities were in Lake County, while seven were in Sumter County and one was a resident of Marion County. It’s unclear if all of those deaths occurred in the past couple of days, as the Florida Department of Health frequently lags behind in reporting COVID-19 cases and deaths. The latest local victims are among the 1,375 in the tri-county area who have lost their battle with the virus, the 28,526 in Florida and the 466,535 across the country.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,790,743 cases – an increase of 7,023 from Monday to Tuesday. Of those, 1,758,254 are residents. A total of 78,574 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 30,161 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 28,526 deaths and 74,884 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, 93 new COVID-19 cases were reported Tuesday in and around The Villages. Those include:
- The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up 18 for a total of 3,803;
- Leesburg up 23 for a total of 3,606;
- Summerfield up 17 for a total of 1,616;
- Lady Lake up 11 for a total of 1,356;
- Fruitland Park up 9 for a total of 622;
- Wildwood up 7 for a total of 891;
- Oxford up 5 for a total of 433; and
- Belleview up 3 for a total of 1,084.
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 56,039 – increase of 301
- Deaths: 1,375
- Hospitalizations: 3,263
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 7,436 – increase of 36
- Deaths: 214
- Hospitalizations: 451
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (3,466), Wildwood (891), Coleman (817), Bushnell (815) and Oxford (433).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 22,933 – increase of 133
- Deaths: 489
- Hospitalizations: 1,204
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (5,978), Leesburg (3,606), Eustis (2,050), Mount Dora (1,766) and Tavares (1,685). The Villages also is reporting 161 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 25,670 – increase of 132
- Deaths: 672
- Hospitalizations: 1,608
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (18,969), Summerfield (1,616), Dunnellon (1,165), Belleview (1,084) and Silver Springs (492). The Villages also is reporting 176 cases.