The high temperatures that still prevail in Seville are testing the strength of the public health system. Not in vain, the Nursing Union has denounced this Thursday that the emergency room of the Virgen de Valme hospital is suffering a "chronic collapse" in recent days, something that the hospital has attributed to the prolonged continuity of high temperatures in the city. Sources from the Valme hospital point out that this continuous record of high heat with autumn already in force has caused "care peaks in the influx of patients to the Emergency Room" of the center. Peaks in care have meant that more than 500 patients are registered daily and have even reached 605 and 557 users in recent days, according to the Satse union. Valme claims to have "activated the protocols to reinforce professionals and streamline hospitalization circuits", in order to guarantee at all times "safe and quality care." Satse, for his part, denounces that the registration of patients represents an extraordinary pressure on care, and that the situation is aggravated by the lack of hospital beds and observation spaces, which ends up resulting in numerous patients remaining for hours in the emergency room waiting for a bed. The Valme hospital management wants to thank the "constant efforts of its professionals and reiterates, at the same time, its commitment to efficient responses through permanent monitoring of healthcare needs and their management." The Junta de Andalucía recognizes that hospitals are noticing an uptick in Covid cases, although they are not having worrying or significant values, although they are assuming that the authorities are monitoring the situation to evaluate whether its growth can lead to an epidemic wave. «They are still low values ​​in terms of incidence, and lower than the figures reached in previous seasons in the same week. In other words, we are below identical weeks last year and before,” said the Minister of Health, Antonio Sanz. "We would have to wait until the next few weeks so that we could start talking about an upward fluctuation, since the data still do not allow us to talk about that," declared the counselor. It is worth remembering that Valme provides assistance to a population that continues to grow, and covers towns as large as Dos Hermanas, Alcalá de Guadaíra and Los Palacios and Villafranca. This growth, according to the union, is not accompanied by more resources to confront it. All to avoid the "increasing physical and emotional wear and tear suffered by healthcare professionals, especially nurses, who daily face high workloads, lack of adequate spaces and continuous healthcare pressure." That flu and Covid register cases in the middle of September, despite the high temperatures, responds to a combination of environmental and habit factors. The still hot days contrast with significant drops in temperature as night falls, sudden changes that, according to the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG), can irritate the mucous membranes of the nasal passages and oropharynx. This alteration of the first defensive barrier of the respiratory tract can facilitate the entry of viruses into the body. Added to this factor is the change in routine typical of September. Returning to schools, returning to work centers and increasing the use of public transport increase contacts between people and the time spent in closed spaces with insufficient ventilation. Hence, the circulation of these viruses is being concentrated especially in the school population and adults of working age.