The United States recorded 2,494 more coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to figures reported Saturday night by Johns Hopkins University.
The country now has an overall death toll of 53,511, with 936,293 confirmed infections, according to a tally by the Baltimore-based university at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Sunday).
The United States is by far the hardest-hit country in the global pandemic, in terms of both confirmed infections and deaths.
The toll of 2,494 was a jump from Friday, when the US recorded the lowest number of virus deaths -- 1,258 -- in nearly three weeks.
Worldwide, more than 200,000 people died of the disease as of Saturday, among over 2.8 million cases, showed the CSSE data.
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The United States suffered the most fatalities. Italy followed with 26,384 deaths. Spain reported 22,902 deaths, France and Britain also reported over 20,000 deaths.
The US states and federal government are trying very hard to balance the public health risk posed by the virus with the severe cost of month-odd shutting down of the country's economy.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that the unemployment rate around the country, which was near a 50-year low before the coronavirus struck, will surge to 16 per cent by September as the economy withers under the impact of the outbreak.
More than 26 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits since March.
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White House unveiled on April 16 three-phase guidelines for reopening the US economy, putting the onus on governors of making decisions about their states' economies.
Over a dozen states, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Colorado and Iowa, are moving toward restarting their economies this weekend with some restrictions.
Many other states remain hesitant to take such steps without more robust testing capacity. New York, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Michigan have already extended their stay-at-home orders.
(With inputs from agencies)
