As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continued to promise on Wednesday that Florida residents 65 and older will be the priority for COVID-19 vaccines once health professionals and long-term care residents are inoculated. , four more local residents lost the battle against the deadly virus and the state saw a significant increase in the number of new cases.
DeSantis was at The Villages on Tuesday making the same promise to go against a suggestion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would put priority on residents aged 75 and over and essential workers, rather than those aged 65 and over . He cited the example of a 22-year-old food service worker who possibly got a vaccine instead of a 74-year-old grandmother if Florida followed the CDC’s recommended guideline.
“Our vaccines will be targeted at our elderly population,” he promised this Tuesday during his press conference at UF Health The Villages Hospital. “We are not going to put healthy young workers ahead of our vulnerable elderly population.”
On Wednesday, the three counties area reported four more deaths from the virus – three in Marion County and one in Sumter County. These victims are among 843 in the local area, 21,173 in Florida and 324,674 across the country.
Locally, a total of 131 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 43 to a total of 1,973;
- Leesburg rose 25 to a total of 2,216;
- Summerfield won 23 for a total of 926;
- Lady Lake went up 13 to a total of 774;
- Fruitland Park up to 10 for a total of 374;
- Wildwood increased 7 to a total of 632;
- Belleview up to 6 for a total of 647; and
- Oxford won 4 for a total of 257.
Below is an analysis of other COVID-19 activities in the local area:
TRI-COUNTY AREA
- Cases: 35,087 – increase of 393
- Kills: 843
- Hospitalizations: 2,620
SUMTER COUNTY
- Cases: 4,589 – increase of 55
- Kills: 117
- Hospitalizations: 368
- Areas / cities with the most cases: The Villages (1,829), Coleman (729), Wildwood (632), Bushnell (508) and Oxford (257).
LAKE COUNTY
- Cases: 14,062 – increase of 199
- Kills: 286
- Hospitalizations: 970
- Cities with the most cases: Clermont (3,731), Leesburg (2,216), Eustis (1,133), Mount Dora (1,089) and Tavares (1,087). The Villages is also reporting 86 cases.
MARION COUNTY
- Cases: 16,436 – increase of 139
- Kills: 440
- Hospitalizations: 1,282
- Cities with more cases: Ocala (12.412), Summerfield (926), Dunnellon (698), Belleview (647) and Citra (283). The Villages is reporting 58 cases.
In all, Florida is reporting 1,234,399 cases – an increase of 11,384 from Tuesday to Wednesday. Of these, 1,213,760 are residents. A total of 62,492 cases were reported in long-term care centers and 26,943 in correctional facilities. Across the state, there were 21,173 deaths and 60,800 people were hospitalized.