A pregnant woman who was infected with the novel coronavirus gave birth to a healthy baby girl via Caesarean section at a hospital designated for treating COVID-19 patients in Guangzhou, Guangdong province early Tuesday.

She became the first COVID-19 patient to give birth at Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital.

The 26-year-old woman, who was not identified, was in her 36th week of pregnancy, and had a fever when she was admitted into the hospital. Her body temperature was 38.8 C and the fetal heart rate was high.

On Monday night, she started to have uterine contractions with an abnormal fetal heart rate.

Since it was the woman's first child, a spontaneous delivery could take a protracted period. For the baby's safety and with the woman's consent, a Caesarean section was performed.

The operation went smoothly. The baby was healthy and weighed 2.85 kilograms, said Li Zheng, director of the obstetrics department of the hospital.

To take care of pregnant women in the hospital, an express passage has been put in place with staff from a number of departments participating, according to Chen Shuxian, vice-president of the hospital.