Updated Monday 8.20pm with arrival date amendment

A critically-ill Maltese man is expected to be flown to Malta from India via air ambulance on Wednesday after he contracted COVID-19 in Delhi, a city where the virus has now spiralled out of control. 

The 47-year-old man was in the Indian capital with his wife where they have been staying since the beginning of March to adopt a baby girl, according to government sources. 

The couple both contracted coronavirus as they were making final arrangements to return to Malta. But the man’s condition took a turn for the worse in the last week and the nightmare was exacerbated after the Indian health authorities ran out of oxygen for ventilators.

At one point, doctors were considering putting the Maltese man in an induced coma, but his condition improved slightly in the last 24 hours and a decision was taken to intubate him.

The man has been treated in Manavta hospital, outside New Delhi, since April 18, the same day the alarm was raised by the Maltese government. 

It is not clear whether the woman and their adopted daughter will be allowed aboard the France-contracted air ambulance, though they tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday afternoon. The air ambulance is fully equipped with a ventilator, providing reprieve for the long voyage home.
 
The couple had travelled to India to complete the complex procedure to adopt the girl. At the time, the COVID-19 situation in one of the world’s most populous countries was still under control.

But since then, overcrowded hospitals started turning patients away as they ran out of oxygen supplies and beds. 

India’s new coronavirus infections hit a record peak for a fifth day on Monday, with infections rising by 352,991 in the last 24 hours.

The country has so far confirmed more than 186,000 deaths and 16 million cases but journalists in various cities have challenged official figures.