The district of Gütersloh in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia state now says that 1,553 workers at the giant Tönnies meat processing plant have contracted the coronavirus.
Lockdown of the district is still under discussion. The prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia will hold a news conference at 10:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. ET).
The outbreak has prompted the closure of daycare centers and schools in the region and the Robert Koch Institute, a public health body, linked a spike in Germany's overall coronavirus reproduction rate directly to the plant.
The plant is one of several meat processing factories now facing scrutiny after coronavirus outbreaks highlighted the poor working and living conditions faced by the industry's many foreign workers.
Read more about the outbreak at the plant: