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Variants of the novel coronavirus are the biggest risk for the US economic recovery, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari has said.

"The biggest risks that I see to the recovery are these variants," Kashkari told the Economic Club of New York, mentioning one variant of the virus which is dominant in parts of the US and easily infects younger people, Xinhua reported.

If organisations including daycare centres and schools need to be closed in response to the spread, that could "set us back", he said.

"That's not my basecase scenario but that's what the healthcare experts that I consult with are warning me about," he added.