- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said that the US should focus on an 18-month recovery for the healthcare system and economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- "This could be a long, hard road that we have ahead of us until we get to either an effective therapy or a vaccine," Kashkari said in a Sunday interview with "Face the Nation" on CBS.
- Kashkari said that the Federal Reserve and Congress are being aggressive to keep the economy afloat until it can reopen.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is not optimistic that the US economy will swiftly rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This could be a long, hard road that we have ahead of us until we get to either an effective therapy or a vaccine," Kashkari said in a Sunday interview with "Face the Nation" on CBS. "It's hard for me to see a V-shaped recovery under that scenario."
Kashkari, who is a 2020 voter on the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets policy, also said that the US should be focusing on an 18-month recovery strategy for the healthcare system and economy.
"We could have these waves of flare-ups, controls, flare-ups, and controls until we actually get a therapy or a vaccine," he said. "If it ends up being shorter than that, that's great. We should prepare for the worst-case scenario."
The US economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and strict social-distancing guidelines to curb the spread of the disease. Nearly 17 million people in the last three weeks have applied for unemployment insurance as bans on non-essential business have led to sweeping layoffs.
It's unclear when the US economy may reopen. President Donald Trump wanted to start the economy again by Easter, which was pushed back. On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that a partial reopening could begin in May in a Sunday interview with CNN. Still, he said that another outbreak of COVID-19 could begin in the fall.
To keep the economy on pause until a reopening can begin, the Federal Reserve and Congress have taken swift action to get stimulus to small businesses and American consumers. The Fed has gone beyond its 2008 playbook, and Trump signed a historic $2 trillion coronavirus aid bill at the end of March.
"The whole Federal Reserve is being as aggressive as possible. That's the right thing to do. I think Congress is also being very aggressive," said Kashkari.
He continued: "If we're going to have economic distress until we have a vaccine, then it's going to be up to Congress to keep coming back to provide support to the American people."
Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email covidtips@businessinsider.com and tell us your story.
Get the latest coronavirus business & economic impact analysis from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is affecting industries.