Health News Roundup: China reports 3,837 new cases for Nov 4 vs 4,045 a day earlier; Analysis-For China's COVID policy, change comes in small increments and more

The following describes the new coronavirus subvariants and how they may impact people. China reports 3,837 new cases for Nov 4 vs 4,045 a day earlier China reported 3,837 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 4, of which 657 were symptomatic and 3,180 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Eli Lilly says some staff want to leave Indiana because of abortion ban, Financial Times reports

Some Eli Lilly and Co employees have requested transfers from the drugmaker's Indiana operations after the U.S. state's lawmakers approved a bill that would ban most abortions there, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Some staff had asked to relocate outside the state even though an Indiana judge has temporarily halted the ban, the Indiana-based pharmaceutical firm's chief executive David Ricks told the newspaper in an interview.

Analysis-For China's COVID policy, change comes in small increments

China is sticking with a strict COVID-19 containment strategy nearly three years into the pandemic, potentially disappointing investors hoping for a quick reopening, although authorities are making ongoing if modest tweaks to managing the virus. Numerous analysts and experts say China is unlikely to begin significant easing of its outlier zero-COVID approach, which is squeezing the economy and fuelling widespread frustration, before an annual parliamentary session in March - at the earliest.

Factbox-What are the new BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 coronavirus variants, and why it matters

New offshoots of the dominant BA.5 subvariant of Omicron known as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are gaining ground in the United States as the SARS-Cov-2 virus that triggered the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. The following describes the new coronavirus subvariants and how they may impact people.

China reports 3,837 new cases for Nov 4 vs 4,045 a day earlier

China reported 3,837 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 4, of which 657 were symptomatic and 3,180 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Saturday. That compared with six-month-high 4,045 new COVID-19 infections reported the day before, of which 757 were symptomatic and 3,288 were asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

China posts 6-month high COVID count as it sticks with strategy

China on Sunday reported its highest number of new COVID-19 infections in six months, a day after health officials said they were sticking with strict coronavirus curbs, likely disappointing recent investor hopes for an easing. China recorded 4,420 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Saturday, the National Health Commission said, the most since May 6 and compared up from 3,659 new local cases a day earlier.