Halifax mayor in self-isolation after contact with person seeking COVID-19 testing

UPDATE: Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said at a news conference on March 16 that he and his staff are no longer self-isolating after potential exposure to someone who was being tested for COVID-19.

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage says he is going into voluntary self-isolation after "a possible linkto someone who is seeking testing for COVID-19."

Savage tweeted the information Thursday afternoon, adding that the mayor's office is closed and "all staff are in voluntary isolation until we know more. #BetterSafeThanSorry."

Shaune MacKinlay, a spokesperson for the mayor's office, told CBC News in an email the person who is seeking testinghad travelled to a mining conference in Toronto.

The attendee, she said, is "not a direct contact of the mayor's office."

Besides Savage, the mayor's office has six staff members, who will also be self-isolating, according to city spokesperson Nick Ritcey.

MacKinlaysaid only the mayor's office is closed. She said city hall is open.

There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nova Scotia, with 57 people all testing negative so far.