A woman undergoing treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19) in an isolation ward in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, gave birth to a baby girl over the weekend, a doctor at the hospital has told the BBC.

The mother, 19-year-old Marie, gave birth normally but has since been separated from her newborn baby.

The patient was connected to an oxygen supply when her contractions started.

“We just arranged the room and she delivered on her bed while on oxygen,” Dr Yaneu Ngaha Bondja Junie, a gynaecologist at the Yaoundé Central Hospital, told the BBC.

The baby was born prematurely weighing 2.1kg (4.6lb) and is in the neonatal unit. It is not clear if the baby is infected as her tests are still being processed, but she is being fed with breast milk from her mother.

Marie is continuing with treatment but feels lonely since her family is not allowed in the isolation unit, Dr Yaneu said.

“We were lucky Marie had a safe delivery, but in a situation where the delivery cannot be normal we have to act fast and go for the C-section,” Dr Yaneu said.

He urged expectant mothers who had contracted the virus not to panic.

The West African country has confirmed 658 coronavirus cases and nine deaths to date.