The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed four million on Thursday.

According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. topped the bleak milestone on Thursday afternoon, with fatalities surpassing 144-thousand.

The pandemic is spreading faster there as the number of confirmed cases surpassed four million just 15 days after hitting three million.

The U.S. accounts for about 26 percent of some 15-point-four million cases worldwide and takes up 23 percent of the global deaths of roughly 631-thousand.