Omicron shows policymakers can’t let guard down: BIS

Bank for International Settlements sees variant impacting activity in Q1 of 2022

The newly-discovered Omicron variant shows policymakers and financial markets cannot lower their guard on COVID-19 and will have to calibrate their policies carefully, the Bank for International Settlements said on Monday.

Dubbed the central bank to the world’s central banks, the Swiss-based BIS said Omicron had already caused falls in major stock markets and ramped up uncertainty.

“The emergence of Omicron indicates that we should not lower our guard,” Claudio Borio, head of the BIS’ Monetary & Economic Department said. “This was the latest reminder that we have to be watchful.”