Croatia – earthquake
Start date: 11 January 2021
End date: ongoing
The designated operator of Croatia, Croatian Post Inc., would like that, owing to the devastating earthquake on 29 December 2020 in the region of the cities Petrinja and Sisak, some 50 km SE of Zagreb, the Croatian government has declared an emergency state of disaster as of 4 January 2021.
Given this state of emergency, Croatian Post Inc. has established extraordinary measures for post offices within the affected area (listed below), effective 11 January 2021. These measures will remain in effect until conditions in the area return to normal.
The extraordinary measures include the following:
- Extension of the delivery period by five working days;
If items are undeliverable as a result of damage caused by the earthquake, and the new address of the addressee is unknown to the postal worker, they will be returned to the sender. The postal worker will mark such items “povrat zbog potresa” (“return owing to the earthquake”);
If the addressee’s phone number is known, the postal worker will attempt to contact the addressee in order to deliver the mail item.
The above measures are applicable to the following post offices:
44103 Sisak, 44104 Sisak, 44105 Sisak, 44201 Martinska Ves, 44202 Topolovac, 44203 Gušće, 44210 Sunja, 44272 Lekenik, 44273 Sela, 44250 Petrinja, 44253 Mošćenica, 44400 Glina, 44410 Vrginmost, 44415 Topusko, 44430 Hrvatska Kostajnica, 44440 Dvor, and 44450 Hrvatska Dubica.
Israel
Start date: 16 March 2020
End date: ongoing
Israel Postal Company, would like to inform that, owing to an aggravation of the health situation and increase in the number of infected people, the country’s authorities have decided to extend the general lockdown until at least 22 January 2021.
The restrictions announced previously will remain in effect, but will affect more people and businesses.
Postal services will continue to function with restrictions, including closure of delivery points in shops, application of quarantine in high-risk areas, reduced working hours in post offices, and a reduced workforce to minimize contact between people. Items normally requiring the addressee’s signature upon delivery will continue to 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 items, and will impact on quality of service.
The restrictions notified previousl regarding service standards and application of force majeure remain in place.
Mauritius
Start date: 16 March 2020
End date: 8 January 2021
The designated operator of Mauritius, Mauritius Post, wishes to inform that inbound international mail services are now operating normally. Outbound services to certain countries have also resumed, on the basis of available flights.
However, as only a few airlines have resumed their operations, Mauritius Post is still unable to guarantee service standards for inbound and outbound mails. Therefore, the situation of force majeure already invoked with respect to quality of service for all categories of mail items will continue to apply until further notice.
Slovenia
Start date: 17 March 2020
End date: Ongoing
The designated operator of Slovenia, Pošta Slovenije, wishes to inform that the Government of Slovenia extended the formal state of the COVID-19 epidemic by 60 days as of 17 January 2021. The decision was officially published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, and is available in the Slovene language only via the following link: https://www.uradni-list.si/1/
Pošta Slovenije will continue to provide postal services in line with public health measures and other restrictions, but with a reduced workforce, which will affect quality of service in respect of all types of inbound and outbound mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items).
South Africa
Start date: 10 December 2020
End date: ongoing
The designated operator of South Africa, South African Post Office (SAPO), asks us to inform that the level 3 lockdown has been extended to 15 February 2021.
Some land ports (borders) have been closed. SAPO had been offering transit service by road to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Mozambique. Under the lockdown, the road transit service to and from these countries is suspended.
SAPO will continue to dispatch mail to countries if the relevant air carrier is operating. It will also continue to receive mail from countries that send mail for delivery in South Africa.
However, it will not be possible to meet delivery standards; this applies to all mail classes. SAPO is therefore still operating under force majeure conditions.
Spain – snow storm
Start date: 7 January 2021
Expected end date: 12 January 2021
The designated operator of Spain, S.E. Correos y Telégrafos, asks us to inform that the extreme weather conditions and heavy snowfall across Spain caused by Storm Filomena are severely impacting upon collection and delivery of mail (letter post, parcel post and EMS).
Madrid–Barajas office of exchange was closed from Friday, 8 January 2021 until Monday, 11 January, when it gradually began resuming operations, with reduced staff numbers. Its activities will be steadily stepped up in the course of the week, and Correos hopes that the exchange office will be operating as normal again by Friday, 15 January. Madrid–Barajas Adolfo Suarez Airport was also closed, and operations there are being restored very gradually.
Correos also takes this opportunity to remind that the force majeure situation declared in the course of 2020 remains in force, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of alert declared by the Spanish Government. This situation will continue to have a major impact on operations, meaning that Correos remains unable, until further notice, to guarantee quality of service for all types of inbound and outbound mail (letters, parcels and EMS).