Images have emerged of coffins being buried in a mass grave in New York City, as the death toll from the coronavirus continues to rise.

New York officials say that Hart Island, which for decades has been used as the final resting place for those who died unclaimed, will now also be used for unclaimed coronavirus victims.

"It is likely that people who have passed away from (coronavirus) ... will be buried on the island in the coming days," New York City Mayor Press Secretary Freddi Goldstein told CNN.

Hart Island has been used by the city as a public cemetery for over 150 years and is managed by the Department of Correction.

The Hart island burials are mostly people who have been unclaimed at the city's morgue for anywhere from 30 to 60 days, Goldstein said.Over one million people are interred there.

Officials say burials are being ramped up at site, which has long been used for people with no next-of-kin or families who cannot afford a funeral.

New York state now has more coronavirus cases than any single country.

The state's confirmed caseload of Covid-19 is nearly 162,000, of whom 7,844 have died.

Spain has recorded about 157,000 cases and Italy 143,600, while China, where the virus emerged last year, has nearly 83,000 cases.

The US as a whole has recorded 467,000 cases and about 16,700 deaths. Globally there are 1.6 million cases and 102,000 deaths.