NewsSportsEntertainmentLifestyleOpinionUSA TODAYObituariesE-EditionLegals Lake, Sumter COVID-related deaths continue to climb Eighteen area residents who tested positive for COVID-19 are among the latest-reported deaths attributed to the coronavirus, according to the Florida Department of Health. LEESBURG – Eighteen area residents who tested positive for COVID-19 are among the latest-reported deaths attributed to the coronavirus, according to the three most-recent updates from the Florida Department of Health. The latest-reported fatalities – 15 in Lake County and three in Sumter -- raise the area’s COVID-related death toll to 797, including 559 in Lake and 238 in Sumter. Details about recent local deaths were not immediately available, due to a change by the DOH in the way it reports fatalities on its website. DOH offices in Tallahassee and in Lake County did not respond to emails seeking information.