A meat processing plant in Hazleton has closed after nearly a fifth of its workforce tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The Cargill Meat Solutions facility, which employs 900, originally closed on Tuesday, after 130 workers contracted COVID-19.

As of Thursday, that number had increased to 164, said Wendell Young, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, a union representing Cargill employees and those at three other meat plants that have closed in Pennsylvania because of the global pandemic.

Along with Cargill, the three other plants recently shut down because of coronavirus are JBS Beef in Souderton, CTI Foods in King of Prussia and Empire Kosher Poultry Inc. in Mifflintown.

The coronavirus outbreak at Cargill, Young stressed, is “a regional problem.”

Young said the company was “upfront” with his union in implementing new protocols adapted to the pandemic.

“These plants just aren’t designed for social distancing,” he said. “It’s not impossible, but it’s hard.”

As far as a reopening date is concerned, Young said that’s up to the company. “We don’t want them to reopen it until they have all the right protocols in place to operate the plant safely,” he said.

“It’s a challenge,” Young said. “But it’s also a responsibility that these employers have, that if they’re going to stay open, they have to do it right.”

Located in Luzerne County, the Hazleton plant provides meat for supermarkets. It’s based in what is quickly becoming one Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 hot spots; Luzerne has confirmed 1,325 cases of the virus as of Friday, per the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s running total.

To put that in perspective, Carbon County still has just under 100 cases. Lehigh County has 1,562 cases, while Monroe tracks 752 and Schuylkill, 164.

Asked earlier this week what plans he has for Hazleton as cases continue to mount in the city, Gov. Tom Wolf said he’s “working with local officials,” including Congressman Matthew Cartwright, to formulate possible strategies, none of which involve deploying the National Guard to that area.

On the ground, Hazelton’s mayor, Jeff Cusat, has issued a curfew for the city.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.