File photo: Agencies

NEW YORK, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) - The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed the 5 million mark on Sunday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

U.S. COVID-19 case count rose to 5,000,603, with the national death toll  reaching 162,441 as of 9:36 a.m. local time (1336 GMT), according to the CSSE.

The hardest-hit U.S. state of California reported 555,797 cases, followed by Florida with 526,577 cases, Texas with 497,900 cases and New York with 420,345 cases, the tally showed.

Other states with over 180,000 cases include Georgia, Illinois, Arizona and New Jersey, according to the CSSE.

The Sun Belt states and the regions which were reopened too soon have experienced a resurgence in cases since July. Some smaller cities and rural communities in the South and the Midwest have also seen cases climbing.

U.S. COVID-19 cases topped 1 million on April 28, more than three months after it reported the first case. The caseload in the country hit 2 million on June 10, 3 million on July 8 and 4 million on July 23, according to the CSSE.

By far, the United States remains the worst-hit nation by the pandemic, in terms of both caseload and death toll.