On the day when long-term care facilities across Florida starting inoculating patients and staff with doses of the first U.S.-approved vaccine against COVID-19, two more local residents lost their battle with the virus and the number of new cases in Leesburg and Lake County jumped significantly.
The latest fatalities were reported in Sumter County, where there have been 109 deaths and 361 people hospitalized. No specific information about those victims was provided by the Florida Department of Health.
Residents and employees of nursing homes and long-term care facilities have been slated to be among the first Floridians to receive the COVID-19 vaccinations, followed by high-risk front-line healthcare workers, those in 65-plus age groups with underlying health conditions, first responders and other essential workers, and then the general public.
In the tri-county area, 2,410 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care facilities – 1,337 in Marion County, 832 in Lake County and 241 in Sumter County. Across the state, 60,287 cases have been reported in those types of facilities.
On Wednesday, 156 new cases were reported in Lake County for a total of 12,727. There have been 275 deaths and 919 people hospitalized.
Leesburg is reporting 2,020 cases – an overnight increase of 25. Others have been identified in Clermont (3,368), Eustis (1,038), Tavares (1,014), Mount Dora (984), Groveland (894), Lady Lake (664), Minneola (345), Sorrento (339), Fruitland Park (326), Mascotte (295), Umatilla (279), Montverde (180), Grand Island (141), Howey-in-the-Hills (98), Astatula (92), The Villages (78), Altoona (65), Astor (57), Paisley (55), Yalaha (36), Okahumpka (22), Ferndale (8) and Mount Plymouth (6).
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 32,099 – increase of 383
- Deaths: 812
- Hospitalizations: 2,515
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 4,154 – increase of 87
- Deaths: 109
- Hospitalizations: 361
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (1,559), Coleman (728), Wildwood (582), Bushnell (480) and Oxford (227).
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 15,218 – increase of 140
- Deaths: 428
- Hospitalizations: 1,235
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (11,599), Summerfield (781), Dunnellon (627), Belleview (600) and Citra (266).
All told, Florida is reporting 1,155,335 cases – an increase of 11,541 from Tuesday to Wednesday. Of those, 1,136,024 are residents. A total of 60,287 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 26,429 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there have been 20,490 deaths and 58,969 people have been hospitalized.
