On the day that four more local COVID-19 fatalities were reported in the tri-county area and 70 more were identified across the Sunshine State, a study showed that Florida is among five states that comprise an overwhelming percentage of the nation’s new Coronavirus cases.
That’s according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University, which showed that over a seven-day period, Florida, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey had 44 percent of the new COVID-19 infections – close to 197,500 positive results – across the country. Total infections across the country in the week cited in the study totaled more than 452,000 cases.
Some health experts have suggested that those five states should receive larger portion of COVID-19 vaccines. But President Joe Biden’s administration doesn’t appear ready to alter its current method of delivering vaccinations to states based on population.
Two of the latest local fatalities were in Sumter County and the other two were in Marion County. They are among the 1,800 deaths in the tri-county area, the 34,364 in Florida and the 556,185 across the country.
As of Tuesday, more than 6.43 million Floridians have received COVID-19 vaccines, with more than 3.76 million receiving both doses. In the tri-county area, 307,614 residents have been vaccinated, with 199,759 of those receiving both doses.
Those local vaccines break down as:
- Sumter County: 76,197 total doses, 55,314 both doses;
- Lake County: 128,115 total doses, 79,058 both doses; and
- Marion County: 103,302 total doses, 65,387 both doses.
All told, Florida is reporting 2,085,306 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 3,480 from Sunday to Monday. Of those, 2,046,280 are residents. A total of 83,184 COVID-19 cases have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,702 in correctional facilities. Across the state, 85,800 people have been hospitalized.
Locally, Lake County is reporting 27,081 COVID-19 cases – an overnight increase of 53. There have been 611 deaths and 1,426 people have been hospitalized.
Leesburg is now reporting 4,110 cases – an overnight increase of seven. Others have been identified in Clermont (7,141), Eustis (2,380), Mount Dora (2,023), Tavares (1,910), Groveland (1,828), Lady Lake (1,615), Minneola (805), Sorrento (785), Fruitland Park (761), Umatilla (702), Mascotte (532), Grand Island (347), Montverde (326), Astatula (214), Howey-in-the-Hills (200), Altoona (190), The Villages (178), Paisley (144), Astor (104), Yalaha (79), Okahumpka (55), Mount Plymouth (13) and Ferndale (9).
Below is a breakdown of other COVID-19 activity in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 65,294 – increase of 92
- Deaths: 1,800
- Hospitalizations: 3,989
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 8,886 – increase of 6
- Deaths: 262
- Hospitalizations: 561
- Areas/cities with most cases: The Villages (4,162), Wildwood (1,027), Bushnell (957), Coleman (844) and Oxford (508).
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 29,327 – increase of 33
- Deaths: 927
- Hospitalizations: 2,002
- Cities with most cases: Ocala (21,464), Summerfield (1,833), Dunnellon (1,344), Belleview (1,285) and Silver Springs (635).
