The local landscape The number of COVID-19 cases in Lake County has dramatically increased, rising from the 186 total cases during the week ending June 2 to 1,165 new cases during the week ending July 24. Sumter County, a little over a third of the size of Lake County, has seen a similar increase. It reported 197 new cases during the week ending July 24, compared to 30 cases in a seven-day total ending June 2. Although the recent spike is concerning, Lake County saw more than 4,000 confirmed cases in January, while 1,306 were confirmed in Sumter at that time. However, vaccines were not as easily accessible as they are