After a law enforcement agent assigned to it tested positive for the coronavirus, Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner on Wednesday ordered the immediate closure of the U.S. Middle District Courthouse in downtown Harrisburg.

“Several other individuals who were exposed to this agent are exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID-19,” Conner noted in closure order.

The shutdown is vital to save the public, jurors, lawyers and courthouse workers from further exposure to the disease, he concluded.

The Middle District court will continue to function, but Conner order the transfer of proceedings scheduled for the Harrisburg courthouse to the district’s other courthouses in Williamsport and Scranton.

The closure is effective until further notice, the judge said.

State and many county courthouses throughout Pennsylvania also have been shut in attempts to curb the spread of the virus.