Fed Chair Powell Tests Positive for Covid-19, Has Mild Symptoms

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms.

(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell tested positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms. 

Powell, 69, received the positive test Wednesday and “is up to date with Covid-19 vaccines and boosters,” the Fed said in a statement, adding that he is working remotely while isolating at home. 

The next meeting of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee is set for Jan. 31-Feb. 1, and Powell is scheduled to deliver an in-person press conference at 2:30 p.m. in Washington after the meeting concludes.

The Covid-19 landscape is different than it was earlier in the pandemic: Most people have hybrid immunity from vaccinations or infections, and antivirals are widely available to older adults and those with compromised immune systems.

–With assistance from Madison Muller.

(Adds background details on Covid in final paragraph.)

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