Woman in UP gives birth to a Covid positive child

The woman herself was tested negative for the coronavirus

A Covid negative woman gave birth to a coronavirus-infected child at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, taking doctors by surprise.

According to reports, the woman was admitted to Sir Sunderlal Hospital at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Sunday and gave birth to a female child two days later.

''The woman was tested for Covid at the time of admission...she was negative.....the baby, when tested soon after being born, turned out to be positive,'' said an official of the hospital in Varanasi.

The doctors will conduct Covid tests of the mother and child again, reports said.

The doctors said that it was the first such case in the country and that they were in touch with the experts to ascertain the reasons behind it.

The father of the child was also 'shocked'. ''I am really shocked...how can this happen?...I don't know what to say,'' he said. 'Both the mother and the baby are in good condition....they have been kept in different wards,'' the hospital official said.