U.S. CDC reports 4,542,579 coronavirus cases

FILE PHOTO: A paramedic dressed in personal protective equipment exits an ambulance at St. Petersburg General Hospital in Florida

(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 4,542,579 cases of the novel coronavirus, an increase of 68,605 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,371 to 152,870.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of COVID-19, an illness caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on July 31, versus its previous report a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum)