The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19 is now the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., trailing only heart disease and cancer.

“COVID is now the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S. — ahead of accidents, injuries, lung disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and many, many other causes," Thomas Frieden, former director of the CDC, told CNN.

The first case of coronavirus was reported eight months ago in the U.S., with the nation now standing at more than 5.4 million positive cases and COVID-19 deaths topping 170,000, Johns Hopkins University tracking data show.

The U.S. leads the world in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. On average, the U.S. has recorded more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths per day for the last three weeks, data from the New York Times indicated.

The U.S. has a higher rate of COVID-19 deaths than in many other countries, Frieden told CNN.

"Last week, Americans were eight times more likely to get killed by COVID than were Europeans,” he said.

Globally there are more than 21.9 million positive cases of the coronavirus with COVID-19 eaths exceeding 774,000. Brazil and India follow the U.S. in total coronavirus cases with more than 3.3 million and 2.7 million confirmed cases of the virus, respectively.

For COVID-19 deaths, the U.S. is followed by Brazil, Mexico and India. Brazil has reported more than 108,000 COVID-19 deaths, while Mexico and India have reported more than 57,000 and 51,000, respectively.

An employee wears protective gear while working at the Azcapotzalco crematorium in Mexico City, on August 6, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
An employee wears protective gear while working at the Azcapotzalco crematorium in Mexico City, on August 6, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP / PEDRO PARDO
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