Orange County reports its highest coronavirus hospitalization count

Orange County heath officials on Wednesday confirmed 67 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 1,753, and one additional COVID-19 death.

The county also reported its highest number of hospitalizations, with 162 patients being treated for the virus, including 70 who are in intensive care.

Roughly 20,145 of the county’s 3.2 million residents have been tested for COVID-19. Most who have tested positive are between the ages of 45 and 64. Of the 34 people who have died, 32% were in the 45-64 age group and 59% were 65 or older.

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Customers defy social distancing and the wearing of masks to stand in line at the recently opened Nomads Canteen in San Clemente. The restaurant opened its doors to dine-in services over the weekend in defiance of the California’s stay-at-home order.  (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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Christina Dagle and her daughter, Eleanor Eades, 4, of Seal Beach, wait in line to buy flowers for a friend from Devynn’s Garden in Seal Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Station 17 owner Cynthia Freund says that roller skates, shown at left, has been her most popular on-line sale item as she reopens for curb-side shopping in Seal Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Armando Mendoza, of Anaheim, celebrates with all his health-care professionals and his family and supporters as he is released after spending 45 days at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Health care workers dance and take images while a mariachi band plays as Armando Mendoza, of Anaheim, gets released from St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. Mendoza was the hospital’s second-ever COVID-19 patient and spent 45 days at St. Joseph Hospital before being released.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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People stroll along Main Beach in Laguna Beach as city ,with State’s blessings, reopened its beaches for active use only.   (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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Ian Hanna skimboards along the shoreline on Main Beach in Laguna Beach, after it reopened to active use only.  (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

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A sailboat cruises by as a lone beach-goer in Newport Beach, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hard closure of the beach.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of a few surfers and beach-goers in Newport Beach despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hard closure.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Beach goers ignore social distancing and beach closures as they walk in groups to the beach access stairs to Salt Creek Beach.   ( Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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Elizabeth Robles of Laguna decides to park in a “No Parking” zone and get the $30 ticket so she could walk to Salt Creek Beach to surf. “The ticket is worth it to me. I broke my arm recently and haven’t surfed in 8 months,” she said.   ( Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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With parking lots closed, a man heads to the beach on the bike path with kids, beach chairs and paddle board loaded on his electric bike in Capistrano Beach.   (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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John and Jamie Garcia, of La Habra, celebrate Jamie’s birthday by relaxing in loungers at the Beachcomber Inn with a view of an empty, closed beach and pier due to the coronavirus restrictions amid a heat wave in San Clemente. The council voted to reopen the beach for recreational activity such as walking, running, swimming and surfing, but have also said residents should not bring a blanket and hang out.   (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Cal State Fullerton student Linh Trinh, 21, right, and her boyfriend Tan Nguyen, 21, walk around a deserted CSUF campus. The school is planning to begin fall semester with online classes, one of the first universities in the nation to make that move as campuses throughout the country grapple with how long to stay closed to most students amid the coronavirus outbreak.  (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

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Russel and Kathleen Sion, of Torrance, celebrate tying the knot in a parking lot at the Honda Center in Anaheim, where the County of Orange Clerk Recorder is performing wedding ceremonies.  (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

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Irvine couple Xiakuan Qian, left, and Qingyun Zhu, get married in a parking lot at the Honda Center in Anaheim.  (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

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UC Irvine Medical Center healthcare workers wave as about 25 Orange County first-responder vehicles participate in a drive-by parade of gratitude as healthcare staff battle COVID-19 at the hospital.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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UC Irvine Medical Center healthcare workers bang on the windows as they watch about 25 Orange County first-responder vehicles participate in a drive-by parade of gratitude as they battle COVID-19 at the hospital, which currently has eight patients with the virus.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Healthcare workers tend to a driver in line at a drive-through coronavirus testing site at the Westminster Mall in Westminster.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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MaryAnn Lawson collects prayer requests from people gathering in their cars in a parking lot in Santa Ana to worship in an Easter service by Rev. Robert A. Schuller. Schuller is reviving a practice that launched his father to worldwide acclaim -- the drive-in ministry.   (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

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Security guard Carlos Reyes wears a protective mask and gloves while patrolling the nearly empty Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center amid coronavirus physical distancing restrictions in Santa Ana.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Charlton Paul, 31, and his soon-to-be wife, Heather Paul, 32, arrive at the Honda Center where the County of Orange Clerk-Recorder set up three booths for marriage licenses and weddings in Anaheim.  (Raul Roa/Times Community News)

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Paul Jones, left, wears a custom-made face mask as does his bride, Annamarie Sucher-Jones, during their wedding in a parking lot at the Honda Center where the County of Orange Clerk-Recorder set up three booths for marriage licenses and weddings in Anaheim.  (Raul Roa/Times Community News)

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Kayakers, boaters and a paddle boarder observe coronavirus social distancing rules while exercising and gliding through Huntington Harbor on the first warm day in weeks with a view of recently snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains in Huntington Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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UC Irvine Medical Center healthcare workers react as an Anaheim police officer joins about 25 Orange County first-responder vehicles participating in a drive-by parade of gratitude as healthcare staff battle COVID-19 at the hospital.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Ashley Amon, and her daughters, Alysha, 2, and Alexandria, 4, who are currently homeless, attend a gathering with fellow worshipers in their cars in a parking lot in Santa Ana to worship in an Easter service by Rev. Robert A. Schuller.  (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

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An aerial view of the closed San Clemente pier and beach. Officials said the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Marine Safety, Code Enforcement and Park Rangers will increase monitoring and people who do not comply could be cited.   (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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A couple takes in a sunset together near the San Clemente pier after San Clemente closed its beaches to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Kristen Edgerle of Victorville collects information from a blood donor before drawing blood at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library blood drive during the coronavirus pandemic in Yorba Linda.  (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

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Protest organizer Elizabeth Coe, waves the American flag out of her sun roof and Laguna Woods resident Debbie Bloom, 67, left, parades her sign while joining mostly Laguna Woods seniors protesting after learning nearby Ayres Hotel will be used to treat homeless COVID-19 patients in Laguna Woods.   (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Kylie Wortham, who was laid off when her entire company was closed due to coronavirus restrictions, relaxes with a book in a hammock overlooking the beach in Huntington Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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A social distancing sign alerts visitors to keep their distance from other people on the mostly empty board walk in Huntington Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Jose Secundino, center, joins fellow recently hired Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County temporary employees, who have been laid off from restaurant jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, as they pack boxes of food for the needy.   (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Daniel Guzman, right, an unemployed pool supervisor from Garden Grove, sits alone in the mostly closed and normally crowded Pacific City shopping mall in Huntington Beach.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Jessica Estebane, a temporarily unemployed restaurant worker from Huntington Beach, rests from her jog in front of closed Huntington Surf & Sport.  (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

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Laguna Beach closes all city beaches and their adjacent parks.  (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

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Laguna Beach has closed all city beaches and their adjacent parks  (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Cases have been reported in at least 38 Orange County communities, with the largest number in Anaheim, the county’s most populous city. A total of 230 cases have been reported there.

Although coronavirus cases have risen past 37,000 statewide, Orange and other Southern California counties have begun to ease stay-at-home restrictions. On Tuesday, Orange County leaders agreed to allow public and private golf courses to reopen. Still, officials have debated whether to close beaches and trailheads ahead of a coming heat wave in order to avoid an influx of visitors.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said several counties have asked his office about modifying restrictions after imposing stricter rules beyond California’s guidelines. Newsom said such changes are allowed at the county level as long as they don’t circumvent the state’s orders.

Newsom has outlined a six-point framework for reopening when the time is right. On Wednesday, he stressed the need for increased testing but did not offer an exact timetable for when stay-at-home orders may be fully lifted.

“There is no date, in terms of our capacity to provide the kind of clarity that I know so many of you demand and deserve,” he said.

Orange County’s case count by city

The county’s “other” category includes unincorporated areas that have a population of less than 25,000 and less than five cases.