Covid 19 Updates

Updated: 23rd Feb 2022

Please find below our latest update regarding the impact of the Coronavirus on our global transport & delivery networks.

Our aim is to update you regularly regarding postal flows out of the UK. We are closely monitoring the situation and can reassure you that we are continuously working with partners to minimise delays and ensure continuity of service.

Untracked International Business Mail (Documents) via The Delivery Group worldwide postal partners

The following countries listed are currently on hold until further notice:

• SYRIA
• YEMEN

Untracked International eCommerce (Goods) services via The Delivery Group worldwide postal partners

The following countries listed are currently on hold until further notice:

ANGOLA	BAHAMAS	BELIZE
BOLIVIA	BRUNEI DARUSSALAM	COSTA RICA
CUBA	GRENADA	GUADELOUPE
GUYANA	HONDURAS	JAMAICA
LIBYAN ARAB. JAMAHIRIYA	NICARAGUA	PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PARAGUAY	SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC	VENEZUELA
YEMEN

 

Australia
Inbound international deliveries in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia may be delayed due to recent COVID-19 disruption at Australia Post’s Melbourne Gateway facility. Australia Post are still unable to provide daily collections in Sydney as their Chullora parcel facility continues to be gridlocked, again parcel volume, quarantine and restrictions within the workforce accounting for the majority of the issues. All carriers are still citing unprecedented volume through their networks and continue to work weekends and additional hours to stay on top of deliveries. Currently estimated delay of up to 9 days, we will keep you updated.

Untracked International mail service via Royal Mail International

There are several countries listed on hold for Royal Mail International routings ONLY until further notice. For full details please visit the Royal Mail website.

Australia – All services are impacted
As recently communicated via the weekly network disruption we are unfortunately still experiencing delays in Australia due to huge increases in ecommerce traffic along with the knock-on effects of lockdowns in all states. We will keep you updated.

Canada
Due to adverse weather conditions including flooding, rockslides and mudslides in B.C. there are multiple road closures affecting ground transportation of mail and parcels across Western Canada. Customers may experience some delays in receiving items.

Spain
We are currently experiencing delays in Spain. We have escalated to our network team and will keep you updated.

New Zealand
All services are impacted It appears that New Zealand are experiencing similar issues to Australia with many businesses in Auckland closed. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions and increase in parcel volumes there will be delays to this destination.

For the following destinations the services impacted are Minipak, MaxiPak Scan DDU & Volumail

Israel
Delays currently due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

Italy
Poste Italiane informs that today a 24-hour strike is called, involving the personnel working in the airports of Milano Malpensa and Milano Linate (MXP and LIN). The strike started at midnight and will end at 23h59.

Delays are expected in the handling of both inbound and outbound products, although the level of participation is not confirmed.

Kuwait
Delays expected due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

Pakistan
Delays expected due to flight capacity.

Taiwan
Delays expected due to flight capacity and customs clearance.

 

Tracked via The Delivery Group ETrak service

All Europe

UK
Storm Eunice has caused delays at ports around The UK, causing delays to deliveries and the transportation of items. The storm has now moved further across Europe. Storm Franklin is expected to cause further delays on 21/02/22.

Italy
Postal parcels and to Italy are experiencing delays due to an earlier IT issue at Poste Italiane for customs clearance. The delayed shipments will be processed in the coming weeks.

Expected delay: 4 weeks

Poste Italiane employees at numerous locations in the provinces of Lecce and Liguria have gone on a partial strike. The strike is expected to be maintained until the 28th of February. Services provided by Poste Italiane may therefore face delays.

Cyprus
Delays of 3-5 days expected due to linehaul congestion

Ireland
Due to limited transport options by air, all items are experiencing delays.
We have been made aware of backlogs in this destination and shipments being held at customs which is causing delays. We are monitoring this and will keep you updated.

Delays in transit times due to transport issues and delivery delays.

Slovakia
We are still seeing delays to this destination due to the COVID-19 measures in place. Longer transit times are expected.

Delays due to protests disrupting transport routes.

Poland
Polish Post has updated that the situation has not improved with service quality as restrictions remain for operations and delivery staff. The processing and delivery of all mail types continue to be affected and the Post is unable to guarantee meeting delivery standards.

Portugal
Shipments originating from outside of the EU are facing delays due to issues with the implementation of the new VAT regulations.

COVID-19 infections impact postal operations: Correios de Portugal on February 14 informed of nationwide disruptions to postal operations due to a high number of COVID-19 infections among its postal staff in Portugal. The postal operator indicated that its operational capacity will remain reduced across its service portfolio until further notice, including in terms of the processing, transport, sorting, and delivery of mail.

Sweden
We have been advised of an 8-10 day delay on top of any other delays due to high volumes.

France
Covid-19 is still causing difficulty with deliveries throughout France.

La Poste employees have staged a strike at postal facilities in Croix, Wasquehal und Villeneuve-d’Ascq. Approximately two-thirds of local postal employees joined the strike. Delays in various postal services should therefore be anticipated in the following days

Some areas in the North of France are experiencing bad weather conditions due to Storm Eunice. Delivery conditions are very difficult today and some delays have to be foreseen on zip codes starting with 50,76,80,62 et 59.

Malta
An increase in COVID-19 infection rate is causing significant staff shortages at key processing and delivery locations. Suppliers are making every effort to ensure operational continuity but some delays are expected.

Ireland
Due to severe weather, delays in deliveries are expected.

Netherlands
Due to Storm Eunice, there is severe disruption to flights, ferries, and road transport. Public transport has been suspended since 14:00 on 18th Feb with people strongly advised not to travel. So consequently, mail processing personnel are not able to attend processing centers. Extra processing capacity was arranged over the weekend to deal with possible backlogs, however, disruption to mail operation is likely until early next week. It may take the postal operator several days to clear the backlog.

Belgium
Storm Eunice has affected Belgium and neighbouring countries. Delays in deliveries are expected.

Latvia (DDU)
Latvian Post has informed that due to a significant increase in COVID-19 infections among its operational staff and temporary closure of several post offices. As result, delays are to be expected in the processing and delivery of all mail items until further notice.

Rest of the World

Kuwait
Closed due to flight capacity issues. We will monitor this and advise when it is reopened.

Hong Kong
Delays in processing mail and parcels in China due to COVID-19 measures.

Kazakhstan
This has now been reopened, delayed parcels will be delivered as soon as possible.

Jamaica
Shipments can not be delivered currently due to flight capacity issues.

China
Delays in processing mail and parcels in China due to COVID-19 measures.

Expected delay: up to 21 days.

Israel
Delays currently, due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

Taiwan
Delays expected due to flight capacity and customs clearance.

Pakistan
Large delays due to flight capacity.

South Africa
South Africa is now open again however there are extensive delays.

Japan
Delays in transit times to Japan due to transport capacity issues and COVID-19 measures.

Expected delays: 5-10 days

Morocco
Delays currently, due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

Philippines
Delays currently, due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

Russia
Delays currently, due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

South Korea
Delays currently, due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

USA
Items are still delayed due to the impact of COVID-19. Expected delays 5-9 days.

Extra delays currently, due to flight capacity and in destination handling.

Due to the recent storm and flight cancellations, we may experience delays. The cancellations affected numerous airports as the storm’s impact zone stretched from North-eastern parts of the country through the Midwest down to southern states such as Texas.

Canada
Delays due to transport capacity and handling.

Expected delays: 7-14 days.

Media sources indicate on 7th February that Ottawa has declared a state of emergency amid the ongoing strike by truckers against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandate. Many major roads in downtown Ottawa remain blocked by about 250 protestors against vaccine mandates.

Australia
Floods stemming from last week’s extreme weather events have led to the complete closure of primary rail lines and some road networks connecting the East and West coasts of Australia.

As of today, most carriers are unable to move freight through South Australia and are reporting the potential for closures until mid-February.

We’ll continue to monitor the situation and report back as things evolve.

Due to high demand and limited capacity we are still experiencing delays to this destination. The delays are on the ground in Melbourne and Sydney.

We are still seeing extensive delays throughout Australia due to COVID-19 measures. We will continue to monitor this closely.

Singapore
We are seeing delays at Singapore airport, causing delays in deliveries.

New Zealand
Due to the increase in new cases of Omicron, the government has announced it will operate under the code ‘red’ of the traffic lights COVID-19 protection framework. As a result, New Zealand Post has advised that they are experiencing significant delays in processing and delivering items.

As always, we will be monitoring this closely and updating you with any changes.

The following countries listed are currently on hold until further notice:

AFGHANISTAN	ANGUILLA	ANGOLA
BAHRAIN	BERMUDA	BRUNEI
BOLIVIA	CARIBBEAN NETHERLANDS	BELIZE
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC	ECUADOR	ERITREA
FALKLAND ISLANDS	GRENADA	GHANA
GAMBIA	GUADELOUPE	EQUATORIAL GUINEA
GUYANA	HAITI	HONDURAS
IRAN	KIRIBATI	LAOS
LESOTHO	LIBERIA	LIBYA
MYANMAR (BURMA)	MONGOLIA	MARTINIQUE
MAURITIUS	FRENCH POLYNESIA	PAPUA NEW GUINEA
RÉUNION	SIERRA LEONE	SINT MAARTEN
ST. KITTS & NEVIS	ST. VINCENT & GRENADINES	SURINAM
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO	ST. VINCENT & GRENADINES	BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
VANUATU

 

International Courier Service

For full details of temporary service adjustments please visit the website:
www.simplydhl.com/covid-19updates

Please note that this situation changes continuously, and we are monitoring on an hourly basis to search alternatives where possible depending on our partners’ operational capacities, our focus is to ensure we keep your mail moving across the world with minimal delays wherever possible.

In the current circumstances all prices are subject to change with immediate notice should we be informed of increased costs by any of our worldwide postal partners, linehaul both road and air is now in high demand and subject to increases, we will of course keep our clients informed and we will ensure we are working with all of our partners to ensure we keep your mail moving.

Coronavirus COVID-19

For additional information on the Coronavirus COVID-19 please visit the NHS website

The Government has released a Coronavirus Action Plan which you can access here