U.S. COVID-19 cases surpass 20 mln -- Johns Hopkins University

A man wearing a face mask walks on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Jan. 1, 2021. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 20 million on Friday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

NEW YORK, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 20 million on Friday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

U.S. COVID-19 case count rose to 20,007,149, with a total of 346,408 deaths, as of 12:22 p.m. local time (1722 GMT), according to the CSSE tally.

California reported 2,297,336 cases, followed by Texas with 1,766,791 cases and Florida with 1,323,315 cases. The states of New York and Illinois both registered more than 960,000 cases.

Other states with over 520,000 cases include Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona, the CSSE data showed.

By far, the United States remains the nation worst hit by the pandemic, with the world's most cases and deaths, making up more than 23 percent of the global caseload.

U.S. COVID-19 cases reached 10 million on Nov. 9, and the number doubled in less than two months.

The United States repeatedly saw record numbers of cases, deaths as well as hospitalizations in the deadliest month of December in 2020.

With a toll of 3,750, U.S. daily COVID deaths shattered record for a second straight day on Wednesday, the deadliest day the country has ever witnessed since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, current hospitalizations in the United States hit a record high of 125,379 on Thursday, according to The COVID Tracking Project.

Entering the new year, the country will continue to fight the virus in the face of surging cases following gatherings and travel over the holidays, experts warned.

A national ensemble forecast updated Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted a total of 383,000 to 424,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by Jan. 23, 2021.