06.02
2020

Stoppages related to the coronavirus have stopped parcel flows from China

As of last week, in several regions in China people have been instructed to stay at home at least until 9 February. Therefore, no parcels are being shipped from China during the so-called house arrest period. The virus cannot be spread to Estonia with parcels.

According to Omniva operations manager Kristi Unt, the temporary stoppage of parcel flow from China will likely cause a piling up of shipments to some extent. “The parcels that have already reached the international supply chain will reach us normally, but at some point there will be a pause in the parcel flows from China, which will be followed by an influx of parcels,” Unt explained.

“At the moment, delivery of international parcels is running more or less smoothly. If parcels piling up during the work stoppage should at one point reach us in large quantities, then delivering those parcels might take a little longer than usual,” Unt added. However, according to Unt, this does not affect the delivery speed of national and European parcels.

Regardless of how long the parcel has been in transit, Omniva will deliver it to the recipient as fast as possible. Nevertheless, Omniva cannot control international parcel transport. “We are unable to share information regarding those parcels that have not yet reached Estonia. Thus, it is best if the client remains patient and follows the information of their parcel in the parcel search segment on Omniva’s website. Unfortunately, our customer service cannot provide additional information on in-transit parcels, either,” Unt explained.

It is worth noting that if another parcel tracking page shows a first event concerning a parcel destined to Estonia, then in the postal world this often means that the parcel has only just exited the export terminal of the shipping country and is en route to Estonia. This means that it could still take several days or even weeks before the parcel physically reaches Estonia.

The coronavirus cannot reach Estonia in a shipped parcel. According to the World Health Organization’s information, the virus lives in an environment under the following conditions: on hard surfaces for 24-48 hours, on porous materials (textiles, paper) for 8-12 hours and on damp surfaces for up to 72 hours. Therefore mail parcels from China do not pose a serious threat. Currently, parcels take at least 1 week, often longer, to arrive in Estonia from China. Sometimes it could take a few months for a parcel to arrive and usually parcels also pass through other stops (e.g. in Moscow or Turkey), meaning there is a very low chance of the virus spreading by handling parcels. However, regardless of the very low risk, special attention is also being paid to daily hand hygiene at the postal company.
 

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