(Reuters) – Each successive variant of COVID-19 has had a weaker effect on the economy, and if the new Omicron variant discovered in South Africa follows that pattern, it should cause less of a slowdown than what was seen after the Delta variant, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said on Friday.
“If this new variant has a similar type of trajectory as the Delta variant did, then we’ll see some slowing but it should not be as much as what we’ve seen during Delta,” Bostic said during an interview with Fox News.
“We have a lot of momentum in the economy right now … and that momentum I’m hopeful will be able to carry us through this next wave, however it turns out.”
(Reporting by Jonnelle Marte; Additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chris Reese)
