HALIFAX -- A Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation employee who was exposed to COVID-19 outside of the workplace has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The NSLC says this is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in one of its employees.

The employee was last at the NSLC store on Portland Street in Dartmouth, N.S. on Friday. The NSLC says it closed the store that afternoon, as soon as it learned that the employee had been exposed to COVID-19 outside the workplace.

The NSLC says a professional cleaning company was brought in to clean and disinfect the store and employees were told to self-isolate as a precaution.

“We will continue to follow all public health advice and will be working with our employee, and the entire store team, to offer as much support as possible in the weeks ahead,” said the company in a statement released Sunday.

“Public Health will be contacting those who had close contact with this employee to determine the appropriate next steps.”

The Portland Street store reopened at 10 a.m. Monday. NSLC employees from other stores in the area will be working at the location.

“We understand customers who shopped in this store may be concerned about possible exposure. We have been following all public health advice and have several precautions in place to reduce risk,” said the NSLC.

The NSLC is limiting the number of customers in all stores to five and there are barriers at cash to allow for physical-distancing. The company says it has also increased cleaning, customers are bagging their own products and are encouraged to pay using credit or debit cards.

Nova Scotia announced 26 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 262.