The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has topped 240,000 as of 6:21 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday (2221 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The fresh figure reached 242,182 with 5,850 deaths, the CSSE said.

The state of New York, as the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, has reported nearly 1,400 deaths, according to the center.