Hongkong Post to increase staffing and offer night deliveries to cope with surge in parcels of masks amid coronavirus outbreak
- Post offices have been delivering mail on alternate days since government made special work arrangements to reduce risk of community transmission of virus
- Normal services will be resumed from Wednesday, after the daily volume of incoming mail surged by 80 per cent this week amid a shortage of masks
Hong Kong’s postal service will increase staffing and offer night deliveries from Wednesday to cope with a surge in parcels of masks and protective gear amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Since Hongkong Post resumed basic services last Monday, it has delivered about 30,000 express items containing masks. The company said on Tuesday that the daily volume of incoming mail this week surged by 80 per cent, with about 70 per cent comprising speed-post items.
“About 10,000 speed-post items containing surgical masks were received over the past few days,” Hongkong Post said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Hongkong Post will deploy additional manpower from other divisions or sections for the handling of speed-post items and arrange for night-time delivery.”
The company said on Tuesday it would resume mail delivery services on a daily basis from Wednesday to handle the upsurge. It hoped to have fully delivered the latest batch of speed-post parcels of surgical masks within the week.