The Covid-19 fallout in the US is a "human catastrophe" that will impact its election, economist Rodney Jones of Wigram Capital Advisors says.
More than 122,000 people have died in the United States from the virus, with 2.3 million people so far having contracted Covid-19.
"I think by the end of July we could have another 1.5 million cases," he told TVNZ1's Q+A.
"It’s a human catastrophe and it’s an economic disaster and, as we see in our region, it’s a source of enormous instability."
On the economic recovery in the states, Mr Jones said the path was "enormously uncertain".
"The pendulum is swinging. Republican supporting states that opened up early, opened up aggressively, followed US President Trump, are firmly on an exponential curve and that will play into the election as well."
He said the number of people able to vote amid a pandemic, as well as the number of deaths that could reach 300,000 could also impact the election, set for November 3.
“To be watching it in real time, it’s a human catastrophe.”
Mr Jones called New Zealand a "lifeboat" for returning Kiwis.
"There’s going to be mistakes, there’s going to be a lot of back for forth. It was great to have zero but there’s a global pandemic raging."
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