NEW YORK, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States have topped 2,200 by 9 p.m. EST Friday (0100 GMT on Saturday), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The fresh figure reached 2,204 with 49 deaths, the CSSE said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,678 as of 4 p.m. Thursday (2000 GMT Thursday).

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday declared a national emergency to open up 50 billion U.S. dollars in federal aid to help combat the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

"I am officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words," Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden.

The president has come under mounting pressure and criticism in recent weeks over himself and his government's response to the outbreak. The number of confirmed cases in the United States exceeded 1,700 and 41 people died, according to a USA Today report on Friday.