Long Beach health officials on Saturday reported the highest number of people hospitalized with coronavirus since the city began tracking the data in early March.

A total of 61 people are hospitalized with the virus, up from 56 on Friday.

The uptick comes as Long Beach and Los Angeles County begin to allow the reopening of some recreation and businesses.

Mayor Robert Garcia said Wednesday that officials would be watching the hospitalization number closely over the coming weeks to see how the reopenings are affecting the spread of the virus. The reason for the initial closures was to prevent hospitals from being overrun by coronavirus patients.

Officials reported no new deaths for the second day, however, leaving the total at 51.

The total number of cases in the city continues to rise, caused by an increase in testing and backlogs from laboratories that have delayed reporting. The total number of cases is at 1,271 now, up from 1,214 on Friday.

Mayor says reopenings will be guided by hospitalization rate