Three more local residents lost the battle against COVID-19, as the death toll in Florida continued to rise on Wednesday and three more cases of the potentially deadly virus were identified at The Villages Charter School.
All the latest fatalities were residents of Marion County. They are among 1,733 deaths in three counties, 33,120 in Florida and 537,583 across the country.
The last three cases were identified at The Villages Charter School last week, when the rest of Sumter County schools were on spring break. This brings the total number of cases at the school that mainly educates the children of the developer’s family, Villages employees and those who work at various companies in the extensive retirement community to 83 since classes started in August. That figure also represents 45.1 percent of the 184 cases among students in all schools in Sumter County.
In all, Florida is reporting 1,989,024 COVID-19 cases – an increase of 4,599 from Tuesday to Wednesday. Of these, 1,952,321 are residents. A total of 82,219 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in long-term care centers and 31,333 in correctional units. Across the state, 82,786 people were hospitalized.
Locally, 44 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday in and around The Villages. That includes:
- The Villages (Sumter, Lake and Marion counties) increased by 16 to a total of 4,363;
- Leesburg rose 12 to a total of 3,951;
- Lady Lake increased 7 to a total of 1,562;
- Summerfield won 3 for a total of 1,775;
- Belleview up to 3 for a total of 1,236;
- Oxford won 2 for a total of 479; and
- Wildwood won 1 for a total of 980.
Below is an analysis of other COVID-19 activities in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 62,661 – increase of 153
- Kills: 1,733
- Hospitalizations: 3,782
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 8,422 – increase of 30
- Kills: 242
- Hospitalizations: 531
- Vaccinations: 50,562 (31,688 both doses)
- Areas / cities with the most cases: The Villages (4,008), Wildwood (980), Bushnell (886), Coleman (838) and Oxford (479).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 25,754 – increase of 76
- Kills: 591
- Hospitalizations: 1,361
- Vaccinations: 93,438 (56,980 both doses)
- Cities with the most cases: Clermont (6,766), Leesburg (3,951), Eustis (2,268), Mount Dora (1,932) and Tavares (1,849). The Villages is also reporting 174 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 28,485 – increase of 47
- Kills: 900
- Hospitalizations: 1,890
- Vaccinations: 75,010 (43,326 both doses)
- Cities with the most cases: Ocala (20,886), Summerfield (1,775), Dunnellon (1,298), Belleview (1,236) and Silver Springs (604). The Villages is also reporting 181 cases.