Emergency medical services are once-again unavailable in Merritt, and will remain that way through today and into tomorrow morning.

Interior Health shut down the Nicola Valley Hospital ER Sunday morning at 8am, and will keep it closed until Tuesday morning at 8 due to a lack of doctors.

It comes as a heat warning has been issued by Environment Canada, which is warning of a “moderate” risk to public health due to the abnormally high temperatures in Merritt and other communities in the South Thompson region.

“There’s messages out on the Internet and all over the place about staying cool,” said Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz.  “If you have an air conditioner, use it. If you have a neighbor that’s older, check on them. I do believe we’re going to have a couple of cooling area open to the public here in town. I think most people are going be doing that.”

At the same time, Goetz says he intends to revive his continued push with the province for more medical staff for the Nicola Valley Hospital.

“I will be making, probably, a weekly call here in the next little while just to make sure we’re ok, because we’re coming into some long weekend stuff. This is when festivals and everything are happening, and we’ve got to have the hospital open for that,” said Goetz.

“I still haven’t sent my request for payment for taxes and the fire department in yet. I’m waiting until next month to do it, because I really feel the Premier needs to talk about why — coming into an election — he’s asking us to trust him one more time when he doesn’t have the wherewithal to understand that you’ve taken money from a community then [didn’t] offer the service.”

The 48-hour shut down comes on the heels of the Merritt ER closing down overnight from Thursday into Friday due to a lack of nurses.