A doctor wearing a protective suit works at a university hospital in Essen, Germany, April 9, 2020. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)

Some 400 out of 500 employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a slaughterhouse of the Toennies Group in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) since the beginning of this week and the results of another 400 tests are pending, German media ARD reported on Wednesday.

The slaughterhouse, located in the town of Rheda-Wiedenbrueck in the district of Guetersloh, has been ordered to be temporarily closed, district administrator Sven-Georg Adenauer said on Wednesday afternoon at a joint press conference with the company.

Schools and daycare centers in Guetersloh will be closed from Thursday until June 29, the district also announced.

Slaughterhouses have become hotspots for COVID-19 infections. In early May, an outbreak of more than 200 cases was seen at a Westfleisch meat-processing plant, also located in NRW.