COVID-19: US death toll surpasses 50,000

The death toll in the United States has surpassed 50,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

There are now at least 50,031 deaths in the country, the data showed on Friday.

The grim milestone was reached Friday morning, five days after the number of fatalities hit 40,000.

The U.S. has the highest death toll in the world and the most number of cases.

The coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 190,000 people worldwide.

Over 2.7 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus.

The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some governments are hiding the scope of their nations’ outbreaks.

Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 869,000 diagnosed cases and at least 50,031 deaths.