Five more tri-county residents have died of COVID-19 as new cases of the virus continue to crop up in Leesburg and surrounding areas.
The victims were from all three counties in the local area and were identified by the Florida Department of Health as:
- 80-year-old Lake County man who tested positive July 24;
- 83-year-old Sumter County man who tested positive July 23, hadn’t traveled recently nor been in contact with another patient;
- 90-year-old Ocala woman who tested positive July 10 and had been in contact with someone else suffering from the virus;
- 73-year-old Ocala man who tested positive July 24, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient; and
- 73-year-old Ocala man who tested positive Aug. 1, hadn’t traveled recently but had been in contact with another patient.
Overall, the tri-county area is reporting 12,179 cases – an increase of 424 from Thursday to Friday – among 5,189 men, 6,811 women, 50 non-residents and 129 people listed as unknown. There have been 188 deaths and 926 people hospitalized.
Lake County has 4,958 cases – an increase of 118 in 24 hours. Those are comprised of 2,308 men, 2,531 women, 29 non-residents and 90 people listed as unknown. There have been 61 deaths and 269 people hospitalized.
Clermont continues to pace Lake County with 1,272 cases – an increase of 70. Another 750 have been reported in Leesburg, which saw an overnight increase of seven cases. Others have been identified in Tavares (593), Eustis (416), Groveland (360), Mount Dora (329), Lady Lake (184), Mascotte (174), Minneola (138), Sorrento (131), Umatilla (94), Fruitland Park (94), Montverde (80), Grand Island (48), Howey-in-the-Hills (34), Astatula (34), The Villages (25), Yalaha (25), Astor (23), Altoona (20), Paisley (16), Okahumpka (12), Ferndale (5) and Mount Plymouth (3).
Sumter County now has 1,237 cases – an increase of 29 in a 24-hour period – among 640 men, 585 women, eight non-residents and four people listed as unknown. There have been 41 deaths and 176 people have required some form of hospital care.
The Villages continues to lead Sumter County with 420 cases. Others have been identified in Bushnell (227, 128 of which are at the Sumter Correctional Institution among 103 inmates and 25 staff members), Wildwood (200), Oxford (78), Lake Panasoffkee (65), Webster (61), Coleman (50), Center Hill (37), Lady Lake portion of the county (26) and Sumterville (23). The federal prison in Coleman also is reporting 356 cases among 266 inmates and 90 staff members.
Marion County continues to lead the tri-county area with 5,984 cases – an increase of 277 overnight – among 2,241 men, 3,695 women, 13 non-residents and 35 people listed as unknown. There have been 86 deaths and 481 people treated in area hospitals.
Of the overall cases in Marion County, 79.6 percent – 4,763 – have been reported in Ocala. Others have been identified in Summerfield (247), Belleview (212), Dunnellon (177), Citra (83), Reddick (73), Silver Springs (72), Ocklawaha (59), Weirsdale (34), Anthony (32), Fort McCoy (15), Orange Lake (8), Lowell (5), Sparr (5), Candler (3), East Lake (3), The Villages (3), Morriston (2), Fairfield (2), Salt Springs (1), Williston (1) and McIntosh (1). A total of 1,067 cases have been reported among inmates (909) and staff members (58) at Lowell Correctional Institution and Marion Correctional Institution.
All told, Florida is reporting 518,075 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 7,686 from Thursday to Friday. Of those, 512,421 are residents. There have been 8,051 deaths and 29,730 people have been hospitalized across the Sunshine State. Those numbers show 180 more deaths since Thursday and an additional 599 people requiring hospital care.
