A young woman infected with COVID during the current mass outbreak in China was astonished when she started growing a moustache as she recovered.

The woman – identified only as Ms Chen in local media – first noticed the pencil-thin hipster-style goatie as the effects of the infection wore off.

Now, she says, it is growing back every couple of days after she removes it.

Ms Chen – from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province – says she can not leave her home without first checking her ‘tache has not grown back.

She shared a video of her new look on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.

She said the best method is shaving but this can leave her face feeling rough from the bristles.

And she explained that she had always had some light lip hair but after COVID, it grew faster and thicker than ever before.

Experts discussing the phenomena told local media that an increase in facial hair was a result of higher-than-normal levels of male hormones, which could be caused by an imbalance as a result of the infection.