Smithers Town Council has expressed its gratitude to health care workers in Smithers and the Bulkley Valley.
Mayor Gladys Atrill expressed her thanks to health care staff in a letter.
She added that the Smithers community is feeling the strain during the fourth wave of the pandemic and that the community is counting on our health care system more than ever.
“In a small town, you see people you know in the ambulance and the emergency room. You see the fear in the faces of your friends and neighbours. You see the anguish in the eyes of their family members. Thank you for your compassion,” Atrill said.
According to Atrill, the fourth wave is affecting all of the community members as more patients are being hospitalized with COVID-19 and decisions are being made on who stays in the local hospital and who will be transferred to another hospital.
The letter also urged residents who have been hesitant to get vaccinated.
“Do it for your health, for your family and community. We are in this together and rely on each other to keep the town healthy and to really support those health care workers we depend on,” she said.
The Smithers Local Health Area is lower than the provincial rate of community members fully vaccinated with 64% of residents vaccinated within the region.