New Presumptive Cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia / Response to COVID-19: Municipal Employee Compensation

****HEALTH/WELLNESS Media Release New Presumptive Cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia  Live update at 3pm.  This update will be livestreamed on http://novascotia.ca/stayinformed/webcast . Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health has announced two new presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of positives in the province to seven. As of today, March 17, Nova Scotia has 934 negative test results, six presumptive positive cases and one confirmed case The two new presumptive cases are travel-related and connected to earlier cases. One of the initial three presumptive positive cases have now been confirmed by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. The affected individuals are in self-isolation and recovering at home. Public health has been in contact with these individuals and working to identify others who may have come in close contact with them. Those individuals are also being directed to self-isolate at home, away from the public, for 14 days. Anyone who has travelled outside of Canada or has been in close contact with someone who has travelled and are experiencing fever (above 38 C) and/or new cough should complete the online questionnaire before calling 811. The online questionnaire can be found at: http://811.novascotia.ca/ Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at http://novascotia.ca/coronavirus . ****** Response to COVID-19: Municipal Employee Compensation

The Halifax Regional Municipality continues to monitor and respond to the rapidly evolving effects of COVID-19. Steps are being taken to mitigate impacts on municipal services while also helping to reduce the spread of the disease.

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The health and wellness of residents and employees is our main priority.

The municipality is working closely with government partners and following the guidance and recommendations from provincial and federal health agencies on COVID-19.​

Status of employee compensation:

The municipality is advising all employees that payroll is continuing as normal and part-time/casual employees will be paid according to what has been scheduled for the upcoming two weeks.

Human Resources and Finance teams are actively working with each business unit to review unique staffing and scheduling situations. Employees are being asked to reach out to their direct manager or supervisor if they have any questions.

Additional information related to scheduling/payroll will be provided as our approach evolves.

Organizational impacts and other employee information, including the latest FAQ will now be shared on a publicly available section of the Employee Hub.

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Stay informed:

• Municipal service levels – halifax.ca/coronavirus
• Health-related information - novascotia.ca/coronavirus/

Thank you for helping with the community effort to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Quick Facts: -- testing numbers are updated daily at http://novascotia.ca/coronavirus -- the Government of Canada has issued a travel advisory asking Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside Canada until further notice -- Nova Scotia's Health Protection Act gives the chief medical officer of health the authority to give advice to protect public health and decrease risk to public health presented by communicable diseases such as COVID-19 Additional Resources: The Public Health Agency of Canada maintains a list of affected areas: http://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/covid-19-affected-areas-list.html Government of Canada: http://canada.ca/coronavirus Government of Canada toll-free information line 1-833-784-4397 Nova Scotia Public Health offices: http://www.nshealth.ca/public-health-offices