A mother was separated from her newborn child at the Rajah Mirasdar Government Hospital after she tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old woman from Sundaram Nagar, Thanjavur, developed COVID-19 symptoms last weekend, while officials screened her and her family members, after her 55-year-old father-in-law tested positive for the viral infection, upon returning after attending the Tablighi Jamaat conference in New Delhi.

The woman, kept under observation at the RMGH, gave birth to a boy on Monday. The swab taken from her was sent for test and the result came back positive on Tuesday. Subsequently, the infant was separated from the mother and kept in a separate room.

The woman’s father-in-law continues to be under observation at the Thanjavur Medical College hospital, said sources.