Ivan Barbara, a Maltese man who contracted COVID-19 and died while in India to adopt a baby girl, had asked health authorities for a vaccine before the trip but was rejected, Health Minister Chris Fearne confirmed on Friday.

Barbara had gone to authorities asking to be vaccinated ahead of his visit but was told that he could not as he was not in the right cohort and, therefore, ineligible at the time, Fearne said during an interview with Newsbook.

The minister emphasised the importance of sticking to the vaccination schedule without exception to maintain integrity in the system.

“This system is in place because people cannot make the rules up for themselves,” Fearne said.

“If people say ‘Okay, I’m going to India or Egypt or Peru tomorrow and I haven’t had the vaccine, let me just ask for it’ then we’re going to have a situation where everyone is going to find a very good reason. There will be no transparency and things won’t be proceeding in the order they should be.”

He suggested that those seeking to travel but have yet to be vaccinated should look into scheduling their trips around vaccine appointments.

“I think people can think about it, if they’re going to be vaccinated next month, then go to Peru the month after that,” the minister said.

The 47-year-old notary had travelled together with his wife Rosanne to adopt a baby girl in March and subsequently tested positive for the virus in April.

When his condition worsened, Barbara was being treated in isolation in an intensive care unit at the Manavta hospital in New Delhi.

Rosanne Barbara in black trousers and white shirt can be seen behind the air ambulance at MIA holding her newly adopted daughter. Photo: Jonathan Borg

An air ambulance was set to transport Barbara to Malta for treatment on April 30, however, he died moments before the plane took off after developing complications.

Soon after, he was cremated as per World Health Organisation guidelines on COVID-19 victim burials. The cremation ceremony sadly coincided with the couple’s 19th wedding anniversary.

Rosanne and the child arrived in Malta on May 2 and have both tested negative for the virus.

Tributes for Barbara, who was a well-known notary in Tarxien, poured in from social media, with many describing him as "having a heart of gold".