Thirty-six more local residents have succumbed to COVID-19 as Lake County Ocala reported another alarming increase on Friday in the number of new cases of the potentially deadly virus.

All of the latest local fatalities were residents of Lake County. It’s unclear from the daily Florida Department of Health report if all of the victims died in the past day, since reporting of deaths and cases by the agency sometimes tend to lag for several days.

The latest deaths bring the total number in the tri-county area to 1,184. They also are among the 26,685 fatalities in Florida and the 435,452 across the country.

Locally, Lake County is reporting 21,511 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 168 in a 24-hour period. There have been 424 deaths and 1,126 people have been hospitalized.

Leesburg is now reporting 3,394 cases – an overnight increase of 29. Others have been identified in Clermont (5,674), Eustis (1,937), Mount Dora (1,673), Tavares (1,562), Groveland (1,433), Lady Lake (1,253), Minneola (609), Sorrento (605), Fruitland Park (578), Umatilla (509), Mascotte (437), Grand Island (283), Montverde (266), Howey-in-the-Hills (159), Altoona (158), Astatula (155), The Villages (148), Paisley (93), Astor (83), Yalaha (59), Okahumpka (40), Mount Plymouth (11) and Ferndale (8).

Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:

TRI-COUNTY AREA

  • Cases: 52,686 – increase of 398
  • Deaths: 1,184
  • Hospitalizations: 3,106

SUMTER COUNTY

  • Cases: 6,997 – increase of 64
  • Deaths: 186
  • Hospitalizations: 439
  • Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (3,234), Wildwood (832), Coleman (815), Bushnell (766) and Oxford (399).

MARION COUNTY

  • Cases: 24,178 – increase of 166
  • Deaths: 574
  • Hospitalizations: 1,541
  • Cities with most cases: Ocala (17,928), Summerfield (1,516), Dunnellon (1,061), Belleview (1,031) and Silver Springs (442).

All told, Florida is reporting 1,698,570 cases – an increase of 10,976 from Thursday to Friday. Of those, 1,667,442 are residents. A total of 75,856 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 29,099 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 71,864 people have been hospitalized.