Compared with the protracted controversy over the presidential election result, COVID-19 seems a bigger risk to U.S. economic recovery, economists have warned.

As many as 53 of 57 economists polled by Reuters from Nov. 10 to 16 said surging coronavirus cases "were the bigger risk" to the country's economy for the rest of this year instead of the uncertainties surrounding the election result, which has yet to be officially announced.

"Fiscal support has largely dried up for now, leaving disposal income lower in the final months of the year. But the largest risk is that the third wave of the coronavirus is likely to worsen with colder temperatures," said David Mericle, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs.

"Renewed lockdowns in Europe are a reminder that the U.S. also faces significant downside risks this winter," he added.

The United States is so far the worst-hit country by the coronavirus with more than 11 million confirmed cases. Progress on developing a vaccine has become a silver lining in the dark cloud over the country's public health crisis.