April 30, COVID-19 Update
Access Worldwide has contingency plans in place to handle these country suspensions. Any suspended countries will be diverted to a special hold area and kept by country and by day. Once the suspensions are lifted we will enter the mail at that time. Access Worldwide will continue to receive and hold all mail until such time when we are able to send it. We are set up to handle this country by country, so that we can release each country’s mail as soon as they are able to accept it.
The following countries have suspended certain mail services:
British Virgin Islands: BVI Post has advised that the Government of the Virgin Islands has suspended all inbound and outbound letter-post, parcel-post and Express Mail Service (EMS) items until further notice. As a result of this suspension, BVI Post is declaring a situation of force majeure.
Honduras UPDATE: Empresa de Correos de Honduras (Honducor) has advised that they are extending the suspension of mail services until May 3, 2020, or a later date to be communicated in due course.
Kuwait UPDATE: Kuwait Postal Sector has extended the suspension of all inbound and outbound letter-post, parcel-post and Express Mail Service (EMS) items until June 1, 2020. Therefore, the previously declared force majeure is extended until June 1, 2020.
Unless otherwise noted, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail.
The following country has announced service disruptions:
Italy UPDATE: Poste Italiane has advised that the Italian Government has extended the measures aimed at minimizing the spread of COVID-19 until further notice. This includes the suspension of signature service and service standards; limitations on the size and weight of parcels; and changes to the number of delivery attempts that will be made before a package is returned to sender.
Poland UPDATE: Poczta Polska has advised that effective April 21, 2020 and until further notice, new procedures will be used for registered items and items that require a signature on delivery. Registered items that do not require proof of delivery will be placed in the recipient’s mailbox. If the mailer refuses to sign for the items that would normally require a signature, the mail carrier will record the last four digits from the ID document, as well as the type of ID and the exact name of the receiver. The force majeure that was previously announced is still effective and mailers should continue to expect delays.
ALTERNATE TRANSPORT: SECOND AIR TO SEA DIVERSION in Effect
On April 27, 2020, a second sea transport departed with volume from the Chicago, JFK, and Miami International Service Centers and is estimated to arrive at the Rotterdam (Netherlands) port on May 15, 2020. Sea route arrival dates are not exact and may vary depending on weather related events and queuing at port of arrival.
It is serving mail destined to:
· Austria
· Denmark
· Hungary
· Poland
· Sweden
· Czech Republic
· Finland
· Netherlands
· Spain
· Switzerland (Geneva and Zurich)
Alternate transit options will remain in effect until sufficient air transportation capacity becomes available.
Following is the complete list of temporarily suspended countries (effective on April 24, 2020):
- Algeria
- Angola
- Antigua & Barbuda
- Argentina
- Aruba
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Cayman Islands
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Congo, Republic of the
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Curacao
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Faroe Island
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- India
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- New Caledonia
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- St. Marten
- Suriname
- Sudan
- Swaziland (Eswtini)
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turks & Caicos
- UAE
- Uganda
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
As always, we are available to discuss at your convenience. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about these new developments.