Expect delayed delivery of packages in Canada, the country’s postal service warned customers on Thursday.
On Monday April 20, Canada Post delivered over 1.8 million parcels, similar to the biggest delivery days it sees during the Christmas season.
That surge in volume combined with efforts to keep workers safe means it’s taking longer to process the mail. Inside processing facilities, Canada Post is taking measures including physical distancing practices “in facilities that were never designed for keeping people two metres apart.”
Additional practices put in place include the following:
Parcel Delivery: To eliminate customer interactions at the door, reduce post office customer traffic and support social and physical distancing, we have implemented a Knock, Drop and Go approach. Delivery employees knock or ring, choose the safest location available to leave the item and then depart for the next address. This change eliminates the need for signatures at the door, speeds up delivery and has greatly reduced the number of parcels sent to our post offices for pickup.
Parcel pickup at post office: For the remaining parcels left at the post office for pickup (items requiring ID), they will not be returned-to-sender until further notice. We’ve suspended our normal 15-day hold period. We ask that customers who are feeling ill or self-isolating, to please delay their visit to the post office and to pick up their parcel when it’s safe to do so. We’ve put physical-distancing measures in our post offices and installed clear plastic guards at the counter.
You can read the full announcement on the Canada Post website.
