U.S. COVID-19 deaths have surpassed the 170,000 mark, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

With the national cases topping 5.4 million, the death toll from the disease in the United States rose to 170,019 as of 6:27 p.m. local time on Sunday (2227 GMT), according to the CSSE.

The state of New York recorded the most deaths across the country, with 32,840 fatalities, followed by New Jersey with 15,912 deaths. California and Texas both reported more than 10,000 deaths, the tally showed.

States with more than 7,000 fatalities also include Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

The United States has registered the highest caseload and deaths of any nation, accounting for more than 20 percent of the global death toll.

U.S. nursing homes have once again seen a spike in new COVID-19 cases due to community spread, a recent report released by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living showed.

Meanwhile, the nationwide number and rate of cases in children have been "steadily increasing" from March to July, said a new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.