Residents of an assisted living facility at The Villages and a Wildwood nursing home and six residents of three counties are the latest local victims of the COVID-19 virus.
One of the long-term care residents lived in Serenades at The Villages, located at 2450 Parr Drive, while the other was a resident of the Cypress Care Center, located at 490 S. Old Wire Road in Wildwood. On Saturday, the Florida Department of Health did not provide any other information about the two victims.
Five of the area residents who died lived in Marion County, while the sixth was a Sumter County resident. They were identified as:
- A 72-year-old man who tested positive on July 9 had not recently traveled but had been in contact with another person suffering from the COVID-19 virus;
- An 85-year-old man who tested positive on July 14, had not recently traveled but had been in contact with another patient;
- A 76-year-old man who tested positive on July 14 had not recently traveled but had been in contact with another patient;
- A 47-year-old man who tested positive on July 18 had not recently traveled but had been in contact with another patient; and
- A 79-year-old man who tested positive on July 19 had not recently traveled but had been in contact with another patient; and
- An 85-year-old Sumter County man who tested positive on July 6 had not recently traveled but had been in contact with another patient.
Thirteen new cases were reported Saturday at The Villages, bringing the total number in the mega-retirement community to 353. Of those, 329 are in the Sumter County community portion, 22 are in Lake County and two are in the Marion County section of the expanding retirement mecca.
35 new cases were also reported Saturday in communities just outside of the friendliest city in Florida. These include:
- Leesburg rose 15 for a total of 603;
- Belleview climbed six for a total of 161;
- Summerfield climbed four for a total of 183;
- Lady Lake climbed three for a total of 144;
- Oxford climbed three for a total of 69;
- Wildwood climbed two for a total of 151; and
- Fruitland Park climbs two for a total of 66.
Overall, the three-county area is reporting 8,180 cases, an increase of 244 from Friday to Saturday, among 3,872 men, 4,172 women, 47 nonresidents, and 89 people listed as unknown. There have been 111 deaths and 634 people have been hospitalized.
Sumter County is now reporting 968 cases, an increase of 27, among 528 men, 428 women, seven nonresidents, and five people listed as unknown. There have been 25 deaths and 137 people treated in area hospitals.
Bushnell now has 197 cases, 127 of which are at the Sumter Correctional Institution between 103 inmates and 24 staff members. Others have been reported in Lake Panasoffkee (49), Webster (39), Coleman (33), Center Hill (29), part of Lady Lake County (24) and Sumterville (15). Coleman Federal Prison is also reporting 372 cases between 297 inmates and 75 staff members.
Lake County continues to lead the local area with 3,988 cases, an increase of 98 in a 24-hour period. They are made up of 1,863 men, 2,033 women, 31 non-residents and 61 people who are listed as unknown. There have been 38 deaths and 188 people have been hospitalized.
Clermont continues to mark Lake County with 993 cases, an increase of 26 overnight. Others have been identified in Tavares (520, 23 of whom are in the Lake County Jail, including an inmate, 20 staff members and two contract nurses), Eustis (339), Groveland (277), Mount Dora (254) , Mascotte (144), Minneola (112), Sorrento (106), Montverde (77), Umatilla (74), Grand Island (38), Howey-in-the-Hills (31), Astor (23), Astatula ( 20), Yalaha (17), Altoona (15), Paisley (13), Okahumpka (11), Ferndale (3) and Mount Plymouth (3).
Marion County now has 3,224 cases, an increase of 119, among 1,481 men, 1,711 women, nine nonresidents, and 23 people listed as unknown. There have been 48 deaths and 309 people requiring some form of hospital care.
The overwhelming majority of Marion County cases, 2,376, have been reported in Ocala, which saw an increase of 87 overnight. Others have been reported in Dunnellon (119), Citra (45), Silver Springs (42), Reddick (40), Ocklawaha (40), Weirsdale (22), Anthony (19), Fort McCoy (9), Orange Lake ( 5), Candler (3), East Lake (3), Lowell (3), Sparr (2) and Morriston (1). A total of 209 cases have been identified among inmates at the Marion County Jail and 149 cases have been reported between inmates and staff members at the Lowell Correctional Institution and the Marion Correctional Institution.
Overall, Florida is reporting 414,511 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 12,199 from Friday to Saturday. Of them, 409,585 are residents. There have been 5,894 deaths and 23,730 people have been hospitalized throughout the Sunshine State. Those numbers show 126 more deaths since Friday and 505 additional people requiring hospital care.
