WASHINGTON, April 20 (CNA) - The COVID-19 death toll in the United States - the country with the most fatalities in the pandemic - climbed by 1,433 in the past 24 hours to reach 42,094, a tally from Johns Hopkins University showed on Monday (Apr 20).

The US has recorded more than 784,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the global health crisis, according to the Baltimore-based university.

New York is the epicentre of the US outbreak, although it seems the state may have endured the worst of the crisis.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that 478 deaths had been recorded in the previous 24 hours, the lowest total in more than two weeks.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was working with state governors to make sure they had the resources needed to ramp up coronavirus testing and added that Cuomo would visit the White House to discuss the response to the pandemic.

At a White House briefing, Trump urged Americans to continue social distancing efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, even as protesters across the country demanded an end to mandatory lockdowns and a quick reopening of the economy.

"During this time, Americans must maintain strict vigilance and continue to practice careful hygiene, social distancing and the other protective measures that we have outlined," Trump said.