November 12, 2020

UPDATE 104: International Mail Service Updates Related to COVID-19

On November 12, 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 countries have provided updates to certain mail services:

Belgium UPDATE: Bpost has advised that the Belgian Government announced a new lockdown which will run from November 2 until December 13, 2020 or later. The lockdown measures in place may result in processing and delivery delays of all types of items throughout the country. Until further notice, all letter-post, parcel-post and Express Mail Service (EMS) items requiring signature on delivery will be delivered with the postwoman or postman signing in place of the customer (but in their presence). Additionally, bpost cannot currently accept letter-post or parcel-post items for destinations to which there is no transport capacity. The list of available destination countries is subject to change daily and may be obtained at news.bpost.be/en-corona.

Lithuania UPDATE: AB Lietuvos pastas has advised that the government announced a three-week nationwide lockdown from November 7 to 29, 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 force majeure remains in force.

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