February 16, 2021

UPDATE 134: International Mail Service Updates Related to COVID-19

On February 16, 2021, the Postal Service received notifications from various postal operators regarding changes in international mail services due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The following countries have provided updates to certain mail services:

New Zealand UPDATE: New Zealand Post has advised that, as a result of a confirmed community outbreak of COVID-19, the New Zealand Government has moved the Auckland region to national COVID-19 Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand to Alert Level 2 from Monday, February 15, provisionally until Wednesday, February 17, 2021. A summary of New Zealand’s COVID-19 Alert Levels and their restrictions can be found at covid19.govt.nz/alert-system. All inbound/outbound operations will continue and contactless delivery and pick up processes apply, with delivery staff capturing the name of the receiving customer to avoid any physical contact. Given the current restrictions, New Zealand Post can no longer guarantee service delivery standards for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items, and is invoking force majeure until further notice.

Portugal UPDATE: CTT Correios de Portugal has advised that the Portuguese Government has extended the general lockdown in place throughout Portugal until at least March 1, 2021. During the lockdown, the processing and delivery of all types of inbound and outbound mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) will continue to be affected, and CTT Correios de Portugal is unable to guarantee compliance with the agreed standards. Therefore, the situation of force majeure previously declared will continue to apply until further notice.

Samoa UPDATE: Samoa Post has advised that the state of emergency has been extended until March 13, 2021. All inbound mail is subject to a three-day quarantine upon arrival and delays in the delivery of mail are therefore to be expected.

Saudi Arabia UPDATE: Saudi Post Corporation has advised that, in accordance with the measures taken to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and the requirements of the government of Saudi Arabia, all letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery will, for security reasons, provisionally be delivered to customers indirectly. Consequently, it will not be mandatory for Saudi Post to provide written proof of delivery, and the delivery will be based on a code sent to the addressee’s mobile phone.

Unless otherwise noted, service updates to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail.

These service updates affect Priority Mail Express International^® (PMEI), Priority Mail International^® (PMI), First-Class Mail International^® (FCMI), First-Class Package International Service^® (FCPIS^®), International Priority Airmail^® (IPA^®), International Surface Air Lift^® (ISAL^®), and M-Bag^® items.

The DMM Advisory will continue to provide updates as they are received. For a full list of international service disruptions, please visit https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/welcome.htm