The Met Office has issued an orange extreme heat warning for much of England and Wales from Sunday to Tuesday, with temperatures expected to top 35C at their peak in southern, central and eastern England. After chairing a meeting of Cobra’s emergency political emergency committee in Whitehall, Kit Malthouse, the Cabinet minister, admitted that health services could come under increased pressure and warned that temperatures could reach 40C . “The key thing we can do is to prepare government services for what may be a sharp increase in demand – and not least in health services elsewhere – but also, critically, to communicate that the first line of defense is actually changing individual behavior,” he said. BBC Radio 4 The World at One. “People need to be careful, do what they would do when it’s very hot – wear a hat, drink water – but also the most vulnerable groups – the elderly, people with cardiovascular problems and the very young – who show people outside for and take care of them.” He urged citizens to be alert to vulnerable people, check on neighbors and take precautions. “We’re asking people if they have an elderly neighbor, particularly if they live alone, it would be a good idea to check on them and make sure they’re taking care of themselves and have access to water,” he said. “The current forecast is for us to be in the mid-30s, but there’s a smaller chance we’ll break that and possibly hit 40C, which would be an all-time record.” Age UK said extreme heat could be particularly challenging for older people with existing health problems, especially those affecting their heart or lungs. Number 10 said there were “tried and tested” plans in the NHS to increase staff and there were emergency measures either in place or ready to be implemented. “There have already been some coordination meetings at a formal level across government,” Boris Johnson’s spokesman said. “This is progress to ensure that as we head into what are predicted to be the hottest days, the necessary mitigations and actions are in place or in place. “A lot of this is ensuring the public know what advice is available – particularly those with young children or vulnerable family members.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST It came as new figures showed staff absences at NHS hospitals in England were at their highest level for almost three months amid rising Covid infections. An average of 22,918 hospital staff in England were absent every day in the week to July 6 – a 30% increase on the previous week – either because they were in isolation or sick with Covid-19.
