Belgium
The designated operator of Belgium, bpost, informs that the Belgian Government is gradually relaxing confinement and quarantine measures.
Bpost is making every effort to provide a five-day-a-week (Monday to Friday) service for the delivery of letter post, newspapers and registered letters, as well as collections from post boxes, and a six-day-a-week service (Monday to Saturday) for parcels and EMS. However, the confinement measures in place for certain categories of staff throughout Belgium prevent compliance with delivery times and collection of the addressee’s signature, and may result in processing and delivery delays throughout the country.
Bpost will continue to provide services according to safety guidelines, but until further notice, all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery will be delivered with the postwoman’s or postman’s signature for delivery in place of the customer (but in the customer’s presence).
Operational conditions remain difficult (cancellation of international flights, etc.), which may also
cause delays in both inbound and outbound.
In addition, bpost cannot currently accept letter-post, parcel-post or EMS items for destinations to which there is no transport capacity. The list of destination countries available is liable to change every day, and is accessible at https://news.bpost.be/en-
As regards inbound and domestic mail, bpost is still required to maintain social distancing rules among staff and between staff and customers, and delays may still occur in the processing and delivery of all types of items.
China – weather issues
Start date: 16 July
End date: Ongoing
Several provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have recently been experiencing severe waterlogging or massive flooding resulting from heavy rains.
Because of these extreme weather conditions, the collection, delivery and transportation of all inbound and outbound international mail products (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) to and from Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Guizhou provinces is subject to disruption, and the processing, transportation and delivery of inbound items to those provinces may be delayed. China Post is therefore declaring a situation of force majeure.
Djibouti
The designated operator of Djibouti, La Poste de Djibouti S.A., wishes to inform that the reopening of air borders and resumption of commercial air traffic have been authorized as from 17 July 2020.
Postal services will return to normal from that date.
Dominican Republic
The designated operator of the Dominican Republic, Instituto Postal Dominicano (INPOSDOM), wishes to inform that the Government of the Dominican Republic ended the lockdown of the population due to COVID-19 on 7 July 2020.
INPOSDOM has therefore closed the force majeure case for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items as of that date.
Honduras
The designated operator of Honduras, Empresa de Correos de Honduras (Honducor), informs that, in view of the measures adopted by the Honduran Government through an executive order of 12 July 2020 to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the entire territory of Honduras will remain in lockdown until 19 July 2020 (or a later date to be communicated in due course).
To minimize human contact and protect its workers, Honducor has decided that it is necessary to suspend the postal service across the entire postal supply chain until 19 July 2020, or a later date to be communicated in due course (from admission of international mail at land and sea borders, and at Ramon Villeda Morales Airport in San Pedro Sula and Toncontin Airport in Tegucigalpa). It therefore asks countries that normally send their mail to Honduras by air cargo or commercial flights not to do so for the time being; otherwise the mails will need to be stored in customs warehouses, generating significant extra costs. An exception may be made for humanitarian aid, which Honducor is able to process with the knowledge and prior authorization of the Honduran Government.
Malta
The designated operator of Malta, MaltaPost p.l.c., informs that the collection of signatures on delivery (with appropriate social distancing measures) has resumed since 1 July 2020 for all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature. Confirmation of deliveries will be provided via the usual tracking event scans for products that allow tracking.
Operational conditions remain difficult, especially at the international mail processing centre, with cancellation of international flights causing delays in both inbound and outbound mail. Consequently, MaltaPost is still unable to guarantee quality of service and delivery standards for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items, and the case of force majeure already invoked remains in force.
This disruption is expected to continue until airlines resume normal operations and sufficient transport capacity becomes available.
MaltaPost is still required to follow social distancing rules among staff and between staff and customers, and this may also lead to delays in the processing and delivery of all types of domestic and international items.