Twenty-five more local residents have lost their battle with COVID-19 as the deadly virus reared its head again at The Villages Charter School.
Nineteen of the latest fatalities were residents of Marion County and the other six lived in Lake County. They are among the 1,474 tri-county area COVID-19 deaths, the 29,990 in Florida and the 494,646 across the country.
Five more students have tested positive for COVID-19 at The Villages Charter School since Feb. 10. That brings the total number of positive results reported among students at the facility that largely educates children of the Developer’s family, Villages employees and those who work in various businesses in the mega-retirement community to 63 since classes started in August 2020. That number represents 43 percent of the 147 cases reported among students in all Sumter County public schools.
All told, Florida is reporting 1,849,744 cases – an increase of 5,117 from Wednesday to Thursday. Of those, 1,816, 108 are residents. A total of 80,153 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 30,603 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 77,124 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, 37 new COVID-19 cases were reported Thursday in and around The Villages. Those include:
- The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up 12 for a total of 3,935;
- Leesburg up 10 for a total of 3,711;
- Summerfield up 6 for a total of 1,683;
- Wildwood up 3 for a total of 921;
- Fruitland Park up 2 for a total of 646;
- Belleview up 2 for a total of 1,131;
- Lady Lake up 1 for a total of 1,405; and
- Lady Lake portion of Sumter County up 1 for a total of 112.
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 58,164 – increase of 225
- Deaths: 1,474
- Hospitalizations: 3,393
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 7,688 – increase of 20
- Deaths: 224
- Hospitalizations: 490
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (3,599), Wildwood (921), Bushnell (839), Coleman (822) and Oxford (438).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 23,728 – increase of 73
- Deaths: 531
- Hospitalizations: 1,243
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (6,209), Leesburg (3,711), Eustis (2,111), Mount Dora (1,809) and Tavares (1,754). The Villages also is reporting 160 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 26,748 – increase of 132
- Deaths: 719
- Hospitalizations: 1,660
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (19,698), Summerfield (1,683), Dunnellon (1,214), Belleview (1,131) and Silver Springs (538). The Villages also is reporting 176 cases.
