New York, May 23 (IANS): The number of COVID-19 deaths in the US topped 95,000 on Friday, reaching 95,276, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

A total of 1,588,322 cases have been reported in the country, according to the CSSE, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hardest-hit New York state reported 28,743 fatalities among 358,154 cases. New Jersey reported 10,985 deaths, Massachusetts reported 6,148 deaths and Michigan reported 5,129 deaths, the CSSE data showed.

All 50 US states have started the process of reopening as President Donald Trump has pushed for, while public health experts have warned that premature moves would lead to more deaths.

Trump said on Thursday that the US would not close if a second wave of COVID-19 comes.

"People say that's a very distinct possibility ... We're not going to close the country. We're going to put out the fires," Trump told reporters during a Ford manufacturing plant tour in the state of Michigan.