Belgium
Start date: 2 November 2020
Expected end date: 13 November 2020
The designated operator of Belgium, bpost, informs that, given the level and impact of the second wave of COVID-19, on 30 October the Belgian Government announced a new lockdown, which will run from 2 November at least until 13 December 2020.
Bpost is making every effort to ensure the continuity of all services and the delivery of letter and parcel post, daily newspapers and registered items, as well as collection from post boxes. However, the lockdown measures in place for certain categories of staff across Belgium are liable to result in processing and delivery delays throughout the country.
Bpost will continue to provide its services according to safety guidelines. All letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery will, until further notice, be delivered with the postwoman or postman signing in place of the customer (but in their presence).
Operational conditions remain difficult (high levels of staff absence, etc.), and bpost is still required to maintain social distancing rules among staff and between staff and customers. This may cause delays in the processing and delivery of all types of items.
In addition, bpost cannot currently accept letter-post or parcel-post 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 here: news.bpost.be/en-corona.
Cayman Islands
Start date: 6 November 2020
End date: 11 November 2020
The designated operator of the Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands Postal Services, informs that having ensured that none of its postal facilities have suffered any structural damage owing to Tropical Storm Eta, it has resumed all postal operations.
Denmark
Start date: 9 November 2020
Expected end date: 3 December 2020
Based on new measures put in force by the Danish Government to minimize the spread of COVID-19, PostNord expects delay in the delivery service in 7 municipalities affected by the new measures from the 9th of November until the 3rd of December 2020.
The affected post codes are:
7700-7770
9480-9881
9300-9990
9320-9740
9600-9681
9440-9690
9940
PostNord is intensively working on new routines to minimize the delays.
Greece
The designated operator of Greece, Hellenic Post (ELTA), would like to inform that, with effect from the morning of Saturday, 7 November 2020, a lockdown has been implemented throughout the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Hellenic Post will endeavour to minimize the effects of this lockdown, there will nevertheless be a direct impact on the collection and delivery of domestic and international mail.
Guatemala
Start date: 12 November 2020
End date: Ongoing
The designated operator of Guatemala, the General Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs, would like to inform of the disruption of services in the eastern and north-eastern regions of the country, owing to Storm Eta. This includes customer service and acceptance and delivery of all categories of mail until further notice. This service interruption will continue until the affected region is safe for operations to resume.
Inbound mail operations and service in the rest of the country remain unaffected.
Israel
The designated operator of Israel, Israel Postal Company, would like to inform that the lockdown declared by the Israeli health authorities is gradually being lifted, and the restrictions have been eased, particularly for businesses.
Social distancing requirements between employees and customers and among employees remain in place.
In addition, shopping centres remain closed, meaning that delivery points located in these areas are unavailable; as far as possible, mail is being redirected to alternative delivery points. Items normally requiring the addressee’s signature upon delivery are being handed over without signature. In general, the indication of a mobile phone number on items will speed up the process, enabling an SMS to be sent to the addressee instead of a written notice.
Home deliveries are continuing, subject to some restrictions, depending on availability of staff and the health authorities’ application of quarantine in high-risk areas.
Inbound and outbound mail is being processed from and to all destinations, depending on availability of flights in both directions and the requirements of the other designated operators.
The restrictions set out in previous Incident Bulletin messages regarding service standards and application of force majeure remain in place.
Latvia
Start date: 9 November 2020
Expected end date: 6 December 2020
the designated operator of Latvia, Latvijas Pasts, asks us to inform that a state of emergency has been declared by the Government of Latvia with effect from 9 November 2020. It will remain in force until 6 December 2020 and possibly beyond.
During the state of emergency, postal services will continue to function with restrictions such as reduced working hours in post offices and reduction of the workforce to minimize contact between people. Items normally requiring the addressee’s signature upon delivery will be handed over without signature.
These measures will affect the processing and delivery of all types of services, including outbound and inbound letter post, parcel post and EMS, and will affect quality of service. For this reason, a situation of force majeure is again invoked with respect to quality of service until the situation is back to normal.
Lithuania
Start date: 7 November 2020
Expected end date: 29 November 2020
The designated operator of Lithuania, AB Lietuvos paštas, asks us to inform that the government placed 12 municipalities under quarantine from 26 October, and subsequently introduced a three-week nationwide lockdown from 7 to 29 November, which may be extended.
To eliminate customer interaction at the doorstep and meet physical distancing requirements, AB Lietuvos pastas has suspended the collection of a signature on delivery for letter-post items and, wherever possible, is directing mail to parcel lockers for contact-free collection. Courier items are still delivered to the door, but the four last digits of the recipient’s ID document are recorded in place of a signature.
These measures will affect the processing and delivery of all types of postal items. The usual service delivery standards still cannot be guaranteed, and the force majeure situation remains in force.
Mexico
The designated operator of Mexico, Correos de México, asks us to inform that offices of exchange MXMEXB, MXMEXD and MXMEXE continue to be affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, owing to official government provisions to combat the pandemic, the Mexican customs authority will be operating with a reduced workforce until January 2021. As a result, delays are to be expected in the delivery of shipments.
Sri Lanka
The designated operator of Sri Lanka, the Department of Posts, asks us to inform that, owing to the emergence of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, new measures aiming to prevent further spread of the virus have been implemented in Sri Lanka.
These new measures will continue to impact delivery standards for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items. The Department of Posts is thus not able to guarantee that it will meet the agreed standards. However, all mail items sent to Sri Lanka will be processed and delivered, subject to certain restrictions imposed by the government.
The office of exchange and all other mail sorting centres are operational, but certain areas remain in lockdown to control the situation. Most administrative tasks are being performed via telework, depending on the availability of resources.
International airports remain closed to all regular passenger flights, and outbound mail transport is still restricted to the limited number of destinations with available air carriers.
The updated destination list is available on the website of the Department of Posts, at slpost.gov.lk/international-
The force majeure conditions declared previously remain unchanged until further notice.