A Chinese baby has been born to a coronavirus patient in Wuhan has been diagnosed with the condition just 30 hours after being delivered.
Doctors are now concerned the infection is able to pass from mothers to their babies while they are in the womb.
The child was born in Wuhan on Sunday, after its mother was confirmed to have the deadly virus before she went in to labour.
Doctors then tested the baby, whose gender hasn't been confirmed, and the result came back positive. The baby was then transferred to the Wuhan Children's Hospital - the centre appointed by the government to treat all infected children.
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At three days old, the baby's condition was stable and was being closely monitored by staff.
The hospital announced the news through a post on its official social media account today.
Dr Zeng Lingkong, chief physician from the hospital's Department of Neonatal Medicine said: "This reminds us to pay attention to a potential new transmission route of the coronavirus - vertical transmission from mothers to babies."
The newborn baby is one of two that have tested positive for the new coronavirus by the Wuhan Children's Hospital.
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A 17-day-old baby tested positive for the sickness after it was born healthy on 13 January. The hospital said the baby's family hired a wet nurse to look after it on 22 January. But the wet nurse was diagnosed with the virus soon after.
The baby's mother was diagnosed on 26 January, then the baby showed symptoms three days later, with the diagnosis of the baby confirmed on 31 January.
It's not confirmed if the baby caught it from the wet nurse or the mother - it's not easily diagnosable to begin with.
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Yet not all babies born to mother with the virus have been found to be infected themselves.
On Saturday, medical professionals donned suits and goggles to help deliver a healthy baby boy, who was born weighing 7.7lb at Wuhan Union Hospital on 1 February - day 10 of the Wuhan lockdown.
Footage from the hospital, which is one of the facilities on the front line of the viral outbreak in Central China's Hubei Province, shows Dr Song Bo holding the newborn boy.
The hospital's isolation unit is the designated national location for pregnant patients diagnosed with or suspected of having the novel coronavirus, which is believed to have originated from a food market in Wuhan.
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Ms Gong, the mother of the new baby boy born at the beginning of this month, was transferred to the hospital from China's north-eastern prince of Heilongjiang on 31 January.
Featured Image Credit: Wuhan Children's Hospital/WeiboTopics: coronavirus