The number of individuals who were admitted to the Emergency Department at Mater Dei Hospital was slightly higher than usual during the heatwave that struck Europe over the past days.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health confirmed that during these last few weeks, Mater Dei Hospital saw heightened activity. The spokesperson said that the higher intake of patients was not necessarily directly related to the heatwave.

Between 12 and 25 July, when the first heat wave struck, the Accident and Emergency department (A&E) at Mater Dei admitted no less than 5,677 patients. On average, during this week, the A&E department saw 405 patients each day.

For the second wave of high temperatures, between 26 July and 8 August, the emergency department had to deal with an even larger number of patients - a total of 5,832. This number is equivalent to some 416 patients a day.

The spokesperson explained that the daily average number of patients at the A&E department at Mater Dei Hospital stands at 377, slightly lower than the intake registered during these particular two weeks. This average was calculated for the year 2016.

The heat also led to other issues, this time related to food bacteria. Between June and July of this year, there were 25 cases of salmonella registered at Mater Dei Hospital.

Heatwave ‘Lucifer’also affected the electricity demand and sea temperatures. This newspaper had reported how the heatwave caused an all-time high in electricity demand. The electricity load peaked at a staggering 460 megawatts, which is 13 megawatts higher than the peak reached two weeks ago.

Not even the Mediterranean Sea could keep up with the scorching heat. Marine biologist and expert Alan Deidun had explained how the high sea temperatures will drastically affect marine life with the migration of some fish and the introduction of other alien species.