UPDATE: Proposed Friday closure at 100 Mile House emergency room averted

100 MILE HOUSE — (UPDATE 9:30 p.m.): Interior Health says the emergency department at the 100 Mile House District General Hospital will no longer be closing on Friday (March 27) as planned.

In an updated statement sent out just after 7:00 p.m. Thursday, the health authority said it has secured coverage to staff the emergency room on Friday. That announcement came about three hours after Interior Health announced a 13-hour closure that was due to last from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday.

Details about the reason for the now-cancelled closure remain unclear at this time. Had it gone ahead, it would have been the seventh closure this month and 12th this year. This was also set to be the third Friday closure in a row, and the sixth weekend with some kind of an ER disruption in 100 Mile House.

Officials at Interior Health have said they’re looking for solutions to the end the recurring ER closures in 100 Mile House, where local officials say residents are on edge.