NEW YORK, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The United States reported 82,404 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 6 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday (2200 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has surpassed China to become the country with most COVID-19 cases in the world, according to the CSSE.

Johns Hopkins said the US has 82,404 cases, while the Times said there were at least 81,321 people who tested positive for COVID-19.

Italy's declared caseload stood on Thursday at 80,539 and China's at 81,285, according to an AFP tally. At least 1,178 people have died of COVID-19 in the US, according to Johns Hopkins, including 100 in the past day in virus hotbed New York.