Three more local residents have succumbed to COVID-19 as Florida topped 1.8 million cases of the fast-spreading virus on Thursday.
Two of the latest local fatalities lived in Lake County and the other one was a resident of Marion County. They are among the 1,381 COVID-related deaths across the tri-county area, the 28,871 in Florida and the 474,554 across the country.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,806,805 cases – an increase of 8,525 from Wednesday to Thursday. Of those, 1,774,013 are residents. A total of 79,072 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 30,242 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 75,454 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, 77 new COVID-19 cases were reported Thursday in and around The Villages. Those include:
- The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up 28 for a total of 3,852;
- Leesburg up 20 for a total of 3,638;
- Lady Lake up 8 for a total of 1,367;
- Summerfield up 6 for a total of 1,630;
- Wildwood up 5 for a total of 900;
- Belleview up 5 for a total of 1,094;
- Fruitland Park up 4 for a total of 626; and
- Oxford up 1 for a total of 435.
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 56,569 – increase of 286
- Deaths: 1,381
- Hospitalizations: 3,318
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 7,522 – increase of 46
- Deaths: 215
- Hospitalizations: 495
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (3,514), Wildwood (900), Bushnell (825), Coleman (818) and Oxford (435).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 23,099 – increase of 110
- Deaths: 494
- Hospitalizations: 1,211
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (6,024), Leesburg (3,638), Eustis (2,056), Mount Dora (1,779) and Tavares (1,703). The Villages also is reporting 162 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 25,948 – increase of 130
- Deaths: 672
- Hospitalizations: 1,612
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (19,164), Summerfield (1,630), Dunnellon (1,182), Belleview (1,094) and Silver Springs (504). The Villages also is reporting 176 cases.
