More than 500 members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) have tested positive for the coronavirus as the illness savages New York City.

The NYPD announced Friday that 552 members have tested positive for COVID-19, including 442 uniformed officers and 70 civilian members. Another 4,111 NYPD uniformed employees were on sick leave, accounting for 11.4 percent of the department’s uniformed workforce.

The new figures are a jump from earlier this week when 211 NYPD members tested positive for the highly contagious virus.

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New York City has emerged as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., having more than 25,500 confirmed cases and 366 deaths among all five boroughs alone.

"It's a trend as you talk about what we've seen and what we're trying to do with social distancing, and lowering the curve. What we're seeing internally as an agency on the frontlines is we are still on an upward climb," Commissioner Dermot Shea said earlier this week.

The NYPD said in its evening summary that on Thursday officers visited 1,703 supermarkets, 5,098 bars and restaurants, 829 public places and 2,199 personal care facilities, the vast majority of which were closed. The trips were made to “remind individuals of the ban on congregating in public spaces and to practice social distancing.”