The Air Rescue Team of FEMERAID International informs all our members, Knights and Dames of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, Federation of the Autonomous Priories (KMFAP) about the followings:

As we predicted 3 months ago, Europe is now diving into the fourth dark wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This surge of cases is propelled by the new variants, such as the UK variant that is 67% more contagious and deadly than the original virus, and the Brazilian & South African variants that are not yet dominant but already in circulation in several European countries. These variants manage to deceive the immune system and reduce the effectiveness of current vaccines in circulation, leaving exposed even those people who have had and survived the virus.

The desired herd immunity may not be enough to control this pandemic. We believe that the heat and summer school holidays could help to flatten the current curve of new cases. However, if the transmission of new variants is not controlled quickly, we will return to the catastrophic scenarios experienced at the beginning of 2021.

Adherence to the hygiene regulations requires a final effort for all vaccinated and not yet vaccinated people.

It is essential for all of us to be able to return to the normality of our lives and, more importantly, to save lives.

Be safe.

12th April 2021