In late August, a 38-year-old woman with COVID-19 in Okinawa Prefecture gave birth prematurely, just 24 weeks into pregnancy — a 29.3-centimeter baby weighing only 580 grams.

"I'm sorry for giving birth to such a tiny you," the woman, who asked not to be named, repeatedly murmured into a smartphone. She could only see her baby through the device, as the newborn was being treated in a neonatal intensive care unit.

When an expectant mother is infected with the coronavirus, the risk of having the baby prematurely increases. And with more pregnant women contracting the virus in Okinawa Prefecture, the woman hopes none of them will ever experience what she went through.