Wes Streeting has issued an important but obvious piece of public health advice, urging Brits to stay warm in cold weather, as parts of Britain are bracing for freezing temperatures and a snow dump
Wes Streeting has told Brits to “layer up and put the heating on” amid plunging -8C temperatures and barrages of snow.
The government advice to blast the thermostat and don a jumper, stating the bleedin’ obvious, comes after two amber weather alerts were issued by the Met Office. They warn snow and freezing rain will bring hazardous travel conditions and could cause power cuts across England and Wales this weekend.
The cold snap has reignited tensions over the government’s cuts to winter fuel payments, with Age UK director Caroline Abrahams saying the freezing weather would bring the move “into sharp relief”.
In response to the charity’s advice to turn on the heating even if it meant going into debt, Streeting said: “Well, this is definitely a weekend to turn the heating on.
“I would certainly agree this weekend is a weekend to layer up and put the heating on as well.”
He also said: “This is a weekend to wrap up and keep warm and to take sensible precautions about going out and about.”
The Health Secretary’s pearls of wisdom comes after the NHS issued an urgent warning for people not to venture outside, particularly in the early mornings and late at night, as we brace for three days of snowfall and a -10C ice blast.
Conditions are already causing havoc on the roads, with Lincolnshire Police launching an investigation yesterday into whether a crash on the A1 that caused the death of a seven-month-old baby in Grantham on Thursday was linked to ice.
The warning for snow and freezing rain covers Wales and central England from 6pm today (SAT) to midday tomorrow, while the second warning is for snow and covers most of northern England from 9pm tonight to midnight tomorrow.
Up to 30cm of snowfall is expected in Wales and the Pennines and between 3cm to 7cm in other areas.
The NHS is also advising people to check on the vulnerable, while in Herefordshire locals were told to stock up on food and medicine and “take measures to reduce draughts in your home”.
Benson in Oxfordshire recorded the UK’s lowest temperature of -7.9C overnight Thursday into yesterday, with much of the UK seeing cold and frosty conditions.