(Bloomberg) — European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, the ECB said in a statement posted on its website.
Guindos hasn’t been in close contact with ECB President Christine Lagarde over the past week, according to the statement. The Spaniard, who is double-vaccinated and has very mild symptoms, will work from home until further notice.
The announcement comes as the ECB is preparing for a crucial policy meeting this week, in which officials are expected to decide how they’ll phase out their pandemic stimulus measures. The ECB said the meeting won’t be affected by Guindos’ illness.
In some of his last public remarks before the ECB’s week-long quiet period preceding the meeting, Guindos argued that higher inflation in the euro area may last longer than expected. Such risks have made some policy makers wary of committing to their next policy steps over too long a time frame.
(Adds details about the ECB meeting this week, comments by Guindos on inflation)
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