Abu Dhabi Police fly ill Covid-19 patient from Delma Island

The man in his 50s was taken in an isolation chamber to a city hospital

The patient was taken from Delma Island to Abu Dhabi on an air amublance. Courtesy Abu Dhabi Police

A Covid-19 patient in need of urgent hospital treatment was flown by helicopter from a remote Abu Dhabi island to the capital.

Abu Dhabi Police's air wing carried the seriously-ill Asian man from Delma Island in an isolation capsule to protect others on board.

The resident, who is in his 50s, was taken to Al Rahba Hospital, one of Abu Dhabi’s main hospitals for Covid-19 treatment.

“Abu Dhabi Police Aviation Operations Room had received a report… stating that a person had contracted coronavirus on Delma Island and needed care,” the force said.

“The air ambulance took off immediately and provided him with the necessary medical care while he was transferred by helicopter from Dalma Island to Al Rahba Hospital to receive the necessary treatment.”

The capsules, unveiled last year, help ensure paramedics and those transferring patients are protected from exposure to the virus, the force said.

Delma Island is located about 40 kilometres off the coast and about 290km to the west of Abu Dhabi city.

The former pearl diving hub is one of the oldest known settlements in the UAE.

Today it is home to about 10,000 people, many of whom work as fishermen or on the island's farms.

Abu Dhabi's door-to-door Covid-19 testing squad