A total of 20,071 people have died of the disease among 519,453 confirmed cases in the country.

NEW YORK, April 11 -- The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States topped 20,000 Saturday afternoon, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

A total of 20,071 people have died of the disease among 519,453 confirmed cases in the country as of 4 p.m. local time (2000 GMT), the CSSE said.

A large burial pit and abandoned buildings are seen on Hart Island where some of the COVID-19 victims are buried, in New York, the United States, April 11, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

New York state has recorded the most deaths in the country, 8,627, which is followed by New Jersey and Michigan with 2,183 and 1,276, respectively. A total of 29,507 patients in the country have recovered, according to the CSSE.