The New York City, the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, has exceeded the barrier of 20,000 deaths, according to the local authorities, which includes confirmed and probable deaths from the disease.

A total of 20,056 people died until Monday night according to the latest balance from the local Department of Health.

Of that total, 14,928 are confirmed deaths from coronavirus, while in the other 5,128 the disease was registered as a probable cause, the health authority said.

These figures are higher than those provided by the New York state authorities, which only count the deceased who tested positive for Covid-19.

The last balance of the state showed less than 15,000 deaths in the Big Apple and 21,764 in the state as a whole.

The Johns Hopkins University count, meanwhile, raises the death toll to nearly 27,000 in this state, the epicentre of the pandemic in the United States.

New York, the largest city in the country, has about 8.5 million inhabitants, and the state as a whole account for nearly 20 million.

The actual death toll, however, maybe even higher than that offered by New York City, according to a report released yesterday by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the CDC, between mid-March and the beginning of this month, there were some 24,000 more deaths than what is normally recorded this season in the city of skyscrapers, so there would be thousands of deaths that can be attributed directly or indirectly to the outbreak.

The United States, the country hardest hit by the pandemic worldwide, broke the 80,000 death toll from the coronavirus, according to the JHU count.

After New York, the most affected states are neighbouring New Jersey, with some 9,300 deaths, and Massachusetts, with just over 5,100, according to the latest figures from the university.