Chinese state media has been criticised for trying to portray a nine-months' pregnant woman working on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak as a hero.

CCTV last week broadcast a segment about Zhao Yu, who works at a military hospital in Wuhan, where the virus emerged.

BBC News reports the clip - which has since been withdrawn from CCTV's website - showed the mum-to-be wearing a hazmat suit and testing patients for the disease, which has killed more than 2200 people in the past few weeks.

One patient tells her she shouldn't be working, and Zhao Yu even admits her family wants her to stop, but she insists on doing her part.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said CCTV described her as a "a great mother and angel in a white gown".