The COVID-19 virus roared back to life across Florida and the tri-county area on Tuesday as the local death toll spiked in the area where the vast majority of Villages homes are located.
Seventeen new fatalities were reported in the tri-county area – 14 in Sumter County, two in Marion County and one in Lake County. They are among the 1,777 tri-county area deaths, the 33,983 in Florida and the 550,371 across the country, statistics provided by the Florida Department of Health and Johns Hopkins University show.
All told, Florida is reporting 2,052,441 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 5,062 from Monday to Tuesday. Of those, 2,014,354 are residents. A total of 82,937 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,564 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 84,973 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, 61 new COVID-19 cases were reported Tuesday in and around The Villages. Those include:
- The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) up 10 for a total of 4,490;
- Leesburg up 27 for a total of 4,057;
- Wildwood up 6 for a total of 1,012;
- Fruitland Park up 5 for a total of 743;
- Belleview up 5 for a total of 1,264;
- Summerfield up 4 for a total of 1,810;
- Oxford up 3 for a total of 503; and
- Lady Lake up 1 for a total of 1,601.
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 64,380 – increase of 167
- Deaths: 1,777
- Hospitalizations: 3,934
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 8,780 – increase of 25
- Deaths: 258
- Hospitalizations: 555
- Vaccinations: 73,559 (49,910 both doses)
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (4,131), Wildwood (1,012), Bushnell (940), Coleman (841) and Oxford (503).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 26,604 – increase of 97
- Deaths: 601
- Hospitalizations: 1,412
- Vaccinations: 116,881 (66,986 both doses)
- Cities with most cases: Clermont (6,989), Leesburg (4,057), Eustis (2,344), Mount Dora (1,986) and Tavares (1,890). The Villages also is reporting 177 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 28,996 – increase of 45
- Deaths: 918
- Hospitalizations: 1,967
- Vaccinations: 94,720 (56,290 both doses)
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (21,235), Summerfield (1,810), Dunnellon (1,324), Belleview (1,264) and Silver Springs (621). The Villages also is reporting 182 cases.