Women in New York have been inundating fertility clinics with requests for their eggs to be frozen, an unexpected result of the COVID-19 virus.

“The phone has been ringing nonstop,” Dr Brian Levine, director of CCRM Fertility NY, told The New York Post.

According to reports, the rush on egg freezing is due to patients becoming anxious about what long-term damage the virus might do to their reproductive health.

At the time of publication there is no data to support that hypothesis that COVID-19 has any significant effect on conception or pregnancy.

However, there is so little known about COVID-19 and because of the fast changing nature of the virus, people are becoming nervous.

The stress isn’t helped by the fact that many women undergoing IVF are already racing against their biological clock, and a quarantine period of any length could mean the difference between ever having a baby and missing out altogether.

For those already undergoing IVF cycles, quarantine could potentially interfere with making appointments and accessing treatment, which could result in wasted cycles and other setbacks.