Infant born to novel coronavirus infected woman discharged from hospital

The baby girl born to a COVID-19 infected woman in Chongqing was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday after testing negative for the virus four consecutive times.

Named An'an, meaning safety in Chinese, the baby girl was born on Feb 11 via cesarean section at Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital affiliated with Chongqing University. Her first nucleic acid test conducted two hours after she was born showed a negative result.

Medical experts evaluated her situation and concluded that she reached the criteria to be discharged from the hospital after four tests conducted on her were all negative.

She was taken home by her grandparents.

The baby girl's parents were confirmed with COVID-19 and quarantined for medical treatment before she was born. Currently, her mother, 25, has been transferred to the ward for mild patients from the critical emergency ward.

Her father has tested negative for the novel coronavirus two consecutive times.

Considering the infection's impact on the woman, a group of medical experts from different hospital departments, including gynecology and obstetrics, neonatology, anesthesia and infectious diseases, conducted a consultation on her condition and made specific plans for her and her baby's treatment and care.

"We did a lot of preparation to minimize the risk of cross-infection," said Xiang Shaojian, the chief surgeon performing the woman's cesarean section.