A United States Postal Service spokesperson said on Wednesday that there has been some misinformation on the status of mail going from the United States and China.
A USPS spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that mail addressed to China, Hong Kong and Macao will continue to be accepted by the USPS.
The World Health Organization also noted that the coronavirus does not survive for long on objects, which means it is safe to accept packages given the transit time between China and the United States, which can often take weeks.
USPS said it has implemented measures to ensure the safety of mail processing and postal staff, including disinfection of postal offices, processing centers and transportation vehicles, and monitoring of postal staff’s physical health.
While USPS continues to accept mail destined to areas affected by the coronavirus, the coronavirus has caused some significant disruption of service between the two nations.
“Due to widespread airline cancellations, capacity constraints and restrictions into this area, the U.S. Postal Service has temporarily suspended the guarantee on Priority Mail Express International destined for China and Hong Kong, effective Monday, Feb. 10, 2020,” a USPS spokesperson said. “Additionally, we are not accepting transit mail from other countries sending their mail through U.S. Postal Service offices of exchange (International Service Centers) destined to China, Hong Kong and Macao.”
For all mail coming into China, the China Post will contact the recipient via telephone and arrange for a non-face-to-face delivery method, which includes temporary storage at the postal outlet, availability for collection from the outlet, or delivery to a smart parcel locker. This precaution has reportedly added to delivery times.