KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Wednesday that his administration would only allow resumption of industrial activities in the province after the implementation of standard operating procedures devised to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The country’s southern Sindh province generates more than 60 percent of the national revenue and contributes about 54 percent to Pakistan’s exports.

On Tuesday, the country’s federal government agreed with the provincial authorities to open “low-risk” industries to address the ongoing economic slowdown, but the implementation of the decision was not witnessed in Sindh.

“We have asked the federal government to share the SOPs with us so that we can submit our response to them,” Shah said.

“The transportation of workers will be the responsibility of factories that will share the list of their employees who will return to work. All buses will display the name of the industry and only accommodate a limited number of employees that will not exceed two-third of their seating capacity. Employees of 55 and above will not be allowed to join offices,” he said.

On Tuesday, Pakistani authorities also agreed to open the construction sector. However, the chief minister informed that no construction site was opened in the province on Wednesday.

“Construction and other industries will be allowed to open only after they implement the SOPs. Builders will have to seek permission before resuming their operations,” Shah said.

Pakistan reported its first coronavirus case on February 26, but it now has more than 6,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 113 deaths.

The country has so far conducted 73,439 tests and remains under a partial lockdown since March 23. However, pressure has been mounting on federal and provincial administrations to resume industrial activities to prevent a total economic collapse

“The death rate from coronavirus has increased from 2.1 percent to 2.4 percent,” Shah noted while informing that Sindh had recorded 166 new cases and six more deaths in the last 24 hours

Giving details of 15 unexplained deaths, he said that the lunges of the deceased individuals had assumed the same shape that can be witnessed in coronavirus patients.

“The experts, after examining these cases, concluded that these deaths were also caused by the virus,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistani industrialists agreed with the government’s decision to implement the SOPs before resuming business activities.

“We have a consensus that human life is more important than business despite the fact that our community is facing hardships in these testing times,” Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Arab News.

“There are seven industrial zones in Karachi and business activities have remained suspended in all of them,” he added. “Only those industries were allowed to work that were deemed essential by the government. The closure continued despite the economic crisis.”

On Tuesday, however, some traders announced to open their shops, but they deferred the decision after holding a meeting with Karachi’s commissioner.