The US has not yet managed to control COVID-19, and there is a high level of uncertainty about how severely the pandemic will affect the economy, Reuters reported referring to Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker.

Based on average forecasts, Harker said US real GDP could fall 20% in the first half of this year and then rise 13% in the second half. According to him, the economy could shrink by about 6% in a year.

“That’s a much sharper recession than we experienced during the financial crisis,” Harker said in remarks prepared for a webinar, also noting that projections are “constantly changing along with the path of the virus.”