Health care worker Maria Alvarez holds a red rose during a parade by the City of Miami Fire Rescue honoring medical workers at Mercy Hospital during the new coronavirus pandemic, Thursday, April 16, 2020, in Miami. (Photo: AP)

NEW YORK, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 650,000 by 4 p.m. local time on Thursday (2000 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The fresh figure reached 653,825 with 30,998 deaths, according to the CSSE.