TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Tainan City expects to see 100 pregnant women infected by COVID-19 each month, the National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH) will set up a special unit to treat them, reports said Tuesday (May 17).

Beginning on May 20, the hospital will have 15 beds for pregnant women and mothers, 15 isolation beds for infants, and eight intensive care wards for infants.

At a Tainan City Government news conference, NCKUH Superintendent Shen Meng-ru (沈孟儒) said the hospital had received 15 COVID-positive pregnant women since April. Seven children had been born at the hospital, and all of their PCR tests showed results negative for the virus, he said.

The Tainan area sees about 1,000 births per month, but due to the current COVID surge, about 100 of the mothers could be expected to be COVID-positive, according to Shen. Only 2% of the newborns were likely to be infected too.

However, the superintendent, who pushed for the cross-departmental collaboration to treat pregnant COVID cases, noted that even though 99.75% of new cases were asymptomatic or light, the 0.25% of moderate or severe cases are 20% made up of children.

The NCKUH had integrated obstetricians, neonatologists, anesthesiologists, and professional nurses to apply the most effective team and resources to face the problem, officials said.

The National Cheng Kung University Hospital is setting up 15 isolation beds for infants, and eight intensive care wards for infants. (NCKUH photo)

(NCKUH photo)