The emergency room at the Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater will be closed overnight because of a lack of nurses.

Interior Health says the closure will begin at 6 p.m. tonight, July 8, with the ER currently scheduled to reopen at 7 a.m. Tuesday, July 9.

It is the fifth emergency room closure in Clearwater this year, with people in need of emergency care once again being told to head to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or 100 Mile House District General Hospital.

The most recent ER closure in Clearwater was over the Canada Day long weekend, with both Interior Health and Mayor Merlin Blackwell expecting rotating ER closures this summer as efforts are underway to hire at least five new nurses.

As has been the case during past emergency room closures, Interior Health says people in Clearwater who need life-saving emergency care should call 9-1-1.

People who aren’t sure if they need to head to the emergency room are being told to contact HealthLink BC.

This closure in Clearwater comes as Merritt is in the midst of a 48-hour emergency room closure, with that facility expected to open at 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 9.

Emergency rooms in Lillooet and Williams Lake were also closed over the weekend, with both those facilities resuming operations this morning.