Warplanes fly over Dallas, Texas, the United States, on May 22, 2020. Some historic warplanes flew over Dallas to honor frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua)

U.S. President Donald Trump says that the United States would not close if a second wave of COVID-19 comes.

NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States reached 1,600,481 and the national death toll of COVID-19 rose to 95,921 as of 7:32 p.m. (2332 GMT) Friday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Beachgoers talk with a park ranger at Jones Beach State Park in New York, the United States, on May 22, 2020. State-run beaches in New York are open on Friday for Memorial Day weekend, while strict restrictions are in place to prevent COVID-19 spread. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

New York remains the hardest-hit state with 358,154 cases and 28,853 fatalities. Other states with over 50,000 cases include New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Texas, the CSSE data showed.

All 50 U.S. states have started the process of reopening as pushed by President Donald Trump in order to reverse an economic free fall, while health experts have warned that premature moves would lead to more infections and deaths.

Laborers work at a construction site during the COVID-19 pandemic in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, May 21, 2020. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on May 18 unveiled a multi-stage approach to execute an economic restart to put New Jersey on the road back to recovery from COVID-19. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

Trump said on Thursday that the United States 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. ■