April 7, 2020

UPDATE 17: International Mail Service Disruptions Due to COVID-19

On April 7, 2020, the Postal Service received notifications from various postal operators regarding changes in international mail services due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The following country has suspended certain mail services:

Cayman Islands UPDATE: The Cayman Islands Postal Service has advised that the suspension of all postal operations has been extended until April 20, 2020.

French Polynesia UPDATE: OPT PF – FARE RATA has advised that it is currently unable to accept letter-post, parcel-post or Express Mail Service (EMS) items until national and international flights have resumed.

Malawi: Malawi Post Corporation (MPC) has advised that, owing the grounding of flights into and out of Malawi by its partner airline because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MPC is suspending international mail operations until further notice. MPC is therefore declaring a situation of force majeure. It is unable to guarantee outbound and inbound mail standards for all categories of mail (letter-post and parcel-post items).

Mongolia UPDATE: Mongol Post has advised that all international flights to and from Ulaanbaatar are suspended until April 30, 2020, or later. Its international mail center will remain closed until May 1, 2020.

Samoa UPDATE: Samoa Post has advised that the suspension of all postal operations has been extended until further notice.

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

The following countries have announced service disruptions:

Curaçao: Cpost International N.V. has advised that the Government of Curaçao has suspended all inbound and outbound international flights which is having a direct impact on service quality for both international inbound and outbound services. Cpost International is experiencing significant disruption to its daily operations and is therefore declaring a situation of force majeure and ceasing to accept inbound letter-post and parcel-post items until sufficient transport capacity becomes available. It will continue to provide restricted postal services. This means that it is unable to guarantee delivery standards for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items. Signatures will no longer be requested for any deliveries, and no proof of delivery can be provided until further notice.

Nepal UPDATE: Nepal Post has advised that the lockdown has been extended until April 15, 2020. These measures have a significant impact on the collection, transmission and delivery of all postal products.

Portugal UPDATE: CTT Correios de Portugal has advised that the state of emergency has been extended until at least April 17, 2020 and additional precautionary measures have been implemented. Registered mail is now deposited in mailboxes, with the exception of registered mail with associated special services. Instead of collecting the recipient’s signature, the mail carrier will ask for the recipient’s name, and will enter this information, followed by “CV19” or “Contingência”, in the signature field on the handheld device. Items subject to a delivery notice are now available for collection at post offices for a period of 15 working days. The situation of force majeure has been extended until further notice.Further, CTT Correios de Portugal is unable to dispatch postal items to many destinations. Please visit www.ctt.pt/transversais/alertas-envios-internacionais#fndtn-tab1 for up-to-date information on the countries concerned.

Togo: The Togo Postal Corporation has advised that the Togolese Government has declared a curfew and modified working hours. It has also suspended commercial flights to and from most other countries, restricted movements around Togo and closed land borders, and is promoting social distancing. These various measures will impact he collection, transmission and delivery of mail. Consequently, the Togo Postal Corporation will no longer be able to fulfil its obligations in terms of mail processing standards, or guarantee quality of service for letter-post, parcel-post or EMS items, until the situation returns to normal. Itis therefore declaring a case of force majeure for all categories of inbound and outbound mail, though it will carry on providing postal services as far as it is able to.

These service disruptions 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 update mailers regarding new service disruptions as they are received. For a full list of international service disruptions, please visit https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/welcome.htm