New York: The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 550,000, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
The fresh figure reached 550,016 with 21,733 deaths as of 5.30 p.m. (2130 GMT), according to the CSSE.
The state of New York recorded 189,020 cases, the most in the country, with a death toll of 9,385. New Jersey reported 61,850 cases and 2,350 fatalities. Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Illinois and Louisiana have each reported over 20,000 cases, according to the tally.
Meanwhile, a friend and donor to President Donald Trump who the president had said was in a coma and seriously ill after becoming infected with the coronavirus has died.
Stanley I. Chera's death Saturday was reported by The Real Deal, which covers the New York real estate industry. The publication cited unidentified sources who have worked with Crown Acquisitions, the firm Chera founded and ran. Chera was in his late 70s.
A White House official on Sunday confirmed Chera's identity and ties to the president. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details about Trump's personal friendships.
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Trump had spoken at recent White House briefings about a friend who had fallen ill with the virus, which has killed more than 20,600 Americans as of midday Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Trump first spoke about his friend as he described the viciousness of the disease on March 29.
