Florida reported its lowest total of new COVID-19 cases in months on Monday but the death toll from the virus across the tri-county area and the Sunshine State continued to climb at an alarming rate.
Sixteen more local fatalities were reported Monday – 11 in Lake County, four in Sumter County where the majority of Villages households are located and one in Marion County. They are among the 1,423 victims in the tri-county area, the 29,434 in Florida and the 486,111 across the country.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,830,988 cases – an increase of 3,615 from Sunday to Monday. Of those, 1,797,728 are residents. A total of 79,635 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 30,377 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 76,219 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, 28 new COVID-19 cases were reported Monday in and around The Villages. Those include:
- The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up 8 for a total of 3,892;
- Leesburg up 6 for a total of 3,680;
- Belleview up 6 for a total of 1,120;
- Lady Lake up 3 for a total of 1,397;
- Summerfield up 3 for a total of 1,661; and
- Fruitland Park up 2 for a total of 640.
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 57,497 – increase of 125
- Deaths: 1,423
- Hospitalizations: 3,323
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 7,608 – increase of 11
- Deaths: 219
- Hospitalizations: 472
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (3,553), Wildwood (911), Bushnell (835), Coleman (822) and Oxford (438).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 23,498 – increase of 56
- Deaths: 527
- Hospitalizations: 1,227
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (6,135), Leesburg (3,680), Eustis (2,089), Mount Dora (1,799) and Tavares (1,731). The Villages also is reporting 163 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 26,391 – increase of 58
- Deaths: 677
- Hospitalizations: 1,624
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (19,455), Summerfield (1,661), Dunnellon (1,198), Belleview (1,120) and Silver Springs (522). The Villages is reporting 176 cases.
