Four N.S. health authority employees test positive for COVID-19

Four Nova Scotia Health Authority employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and staff who worked closely with them are now in self-isolation, pending testing.

Three of the affected people work in the central zone, which encompasses Halifax, West Hants and the Eastern Shore.

One person works in the eastern zone, which includes Antigonish, Guysborough and Cape Breton.

The health authority has not released information about where exactly the employees work, citing privacy reasons.

NSHA spokesperson Brendan Elliott said the authority willonly identify a specific facility where the employees workedif there isa need to identify people who may have been exposed.

"We mitigate risk by ensuring employees remain out of the workplace while we perform contact tracing. We also remove other potentially exposed employees from the workplace while the case investigation is underway," Elliott said in an e-mailed statement to CBC News.

Elliott said any known close contacts are tested with any confirmed COVID-19 case.

Any health authority employee who isn't feeling well is advised to stay home and report their symptoms to an occupational health hotline for staff, Elliott said.