News USA now has more coronavirus cases than China or Italy with 82,000 infected A running count by John Hopkins University predicts the US topped China and Italy on Thursday, with the World Health Organisation warning it was the looming epicenter Share Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now Sign up to FREE email alerts from Mirror - The Coronavirus Briefing Subscribe We will use your email address to send you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for more information on how we use your data and your data protection rights. Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The United States now leads the world in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases.

According to a running count by Johns Hopkins University, the number of people infected in the US topped 82,000 on Thursday.

That is just ahead of the 81,000 cases in China, and 80,000 in Italy.

Italy has the most confirmed deaths of any country with more than 8,000.

More than 1,000 people have died in the US.

There have been more than 510,000 cases reported worldwide. Coronavirus cases in the US have topped China and Italy, figures claim (Image: REUTERS) Read More DJ with coronavirus posts thumbs up selfie from hospital bed days before death

Officials have said yesterday saw another new record for the amount of deaths in the US with at least 246 confirmed bringing the number to 1,195.

Hospitals across the country have been battling desperately to keep up with demands with a makeshift morgue constructed in New York where half of US cases have been reported.

New York Bellevue Hospital Center used tents and refrigerated trucks to store the dead, while Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens saw 13 die yesterday alone. The World Health Organisation has warned the US is the looming Covid-19 epicenter (Image: REUTERS)

Some health officials, meanwhile, predict areas of Michigan and Illinois could be the next epicenters taking over from New York, California and Washington, reports CNN .

Just days ago Donald Trump defied medics by saying he wants the country "open by Easter".

The World Health Organisation had already declared America the looming epicentre of the Covid-19 crisis as cases there continue to soar. President Donald Trump speaks while flanked by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Image: Getty Images)

But the president insisted on Tuesday things would be back to normal within a couple of weeks , saying: “I think it’s possible, why not?”

Mr Trump compared Covid-19 to seasonal flu, saying that despite thousands of people dying of flu each year, “we don’t turn the country off.”

He then argued that more people die in car accidents, but nobody forces car companies to stop manufacturing vehicles.

He said:“It’s a risk we accept so we can move about.” Read More