The woman, Osnat Ben Shitrit, was healthy until she recently contracted the coronavirus, and previously had four smooth pregnancies that ended in straightforward births, a spokeswoman for Hadassah Medical Center told The Times of Israel.

The fetus had not been not infected with the virus, but was delivered in critical condition and did not survive, Hadassah said.

While concern related to the British strain lately focused on its transmissibility, not virulence, it is believed to impact pregnant women worse than the regular strain. Last month, as the British variant spread, Israel approved vaccines for pregnant women and started encouraging women to get the shots.

According to a Hadassah statement, medics made “very prolonged” resuscitation attempts and performed an emergency caesarian section. But the mother died, and “despite tremendous efforts to save and save the fetus’ life in the preterm intensive care unit,” it did not survive.

Staff have been left in an “emotional storm,” and the hospital “shares in the heavy grief of the family,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, a stillborn baby in the city of Ashdod was found to be carrying the virus, having been infected via the placenta.