HON Hai Precision Industry Co., Apple Inc.’s main iPhone production partner, said its factories worldwide are coordinating with authorities in carrying out virus protection and are preparing safety measures with the approval of local governments.

“Our group hasn’t received any client requests to move production resumption earlier,” the company, also known as Foxconn, said in a statement Saturday. Operating schedules will be arranged according to local governments’ requirements, the company said.

The company had asked employees at a facility in Shenzhen not to return to work when the extended Lunar New Year break ends today.

The Nikkei business daily reported earlier Saturday that after authorities intervened, Foxconn dropped plans to resume production on the Chinese mainland from today. Public health experts told the company its Shenzhen plants face high risks of infection and are not suitable to restart work after on-site inspections, according to the newspaper, which cited people it didn’t name.

Foxconn makes the vast majority of the world’s iPhones from the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou in Henan Province.

The company follows the recommendations of local governments and has been “fully coordinating” with authorities in carrying out virus prevention measures and putting safety measures in place before work resumes, Foxconn said in the statement. (SD-Agencies)