In our continuing effort to keep you abreast of the latest changes that may impact your business communications, we are sharing the following Q&A document from USPS about how they are operating during the Coronavirus pandemic. We have also learned additional details from USPS that we have shared directly below the update from USPS.

USPS® Coronavirus Updates for Business Customers

FAQs specific to the Coronavirus situation and Postal Service™ continuity can be found here. The Postal Service is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and continues to follow strategies and measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health departments.

Mar 23, 2020 • FAQ
Article Number 000004193

Customer Information
The Postal Service is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and continues to follow strategies and measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health department.

Delivery – Shelter-in-Place
Do shelter-in-place orders apply to USPS facilities?

The Postal Service is classified as an essential government service operation, which allows us to continue operations.

What is USPS doing about facilities in parts of the country (CA, PA) affected by shelter-in-place? Specifically in locations where the news media did not cite the USPS as an essential service?

The Postal Service is an essential service for purposes of its compliance with state or municipality shelter-in-place orders or other social distancing restrictions. The Postal Service delivers medications, social security checks, and is the leading delivery service for online purchases.

The statute that created the Postal Service begins with the following sentence: “The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by an Act of Congress, and supported by the people.” 39 U.S.C. §101(a).

Mail Transport Equipment
How safe is the mail and mail transport equipment?

Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidance continues to indicate there is no evidence the virus is spreading through the mail.

According to WHO, the likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low, and the risk of catching the virus from a package that has been moved, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperatures is also low. This guidance remains true for mail transport equipment

Transportation
How safe is the mail and mail transport equipment?

Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidance continues to indicate there is no evidence the virus is spreading through the mail.

According to WHO, the likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low, and the risk of catching the virus from a package that has been moved, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperatures is also low. This guidance remains true for mail transport equipment

Signature Services
How are signature service items being handled with social distancing regulations in place?

To reduce health risks, we are temporarily modifying customer signature capture procedures.

  • While maintaining a safe, appropriate distance, employees will request the customer’s first initial and last name so that the employee can enter the information on the electronic screen or hard copy items such as return receipts, PS Forms 3811 and 3829.
  • For increased safety, employees will ask the customer to step back a safe distance or close the screen door/door so that they may leave the item in the mail receptacle or appropriate location by the customer door.

Safety
Can you provide information on how the USPS is keeping the mail and its employees safe?

The United States Postal Service has a dedicated COVID-19 Command Response leadership team that is focusing on employee, operational, business, and customer continuity during this unprecedented epidemic. We continue to follow the strategies and measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health departments. The CDC has information available on its website at www.coronavirus.gov that provides the latest information about COVID-19.

To reduce health risks, we also are temporarily modifying customer signature capture procedures. While maintaining a safe, appropriate distance, employees will request the customer’s first initial and last name so that the employee can enter the information on the electronic screen or hard copy items such as return receipts, PS Forms 3811 and 3829. For increased safety, employees will politely ask the customer to step back a safe distance or close the screen door/door so that they may leave the item in the mail receptacle or appropriate location by the customer door.

Importantly, the CDC (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html), the World Health Organization (www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses), as well as the Surgeon General have indicated that there is currently no evidence that COVID-19 is being spread through the mail.

Specifically, according to the World Health Organization, “the likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, traveled, and been exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low.” And according to the CDC, “in general, because of poor survivability of these Coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packaging that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures. Coronaviruses are generally thought to be spread most often by respiratory droplets. Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods and there have not been any cases of COVID-19 in the United States associated with imported goods.”

The following are the additional details we have learned from direct interactions with USPS.

Q. What will USPS do if one of their facility is closed temporarily?

A. USPS Post Offices closed due to a virus would only be closed until the building is sanitized. This is projected to be a relatively short period of time.

USPS has a standard operating procedure (SOP) in place that arranges for mail delivery to continue when the delivery post office temporarily closes due to an emergency situation. A nearby post office assumes the responsibility of delivery to the affected post offices delivery area. Their customers are advised they can pick up their PO Box mail at the temporary location until the emergency passes. In the case of the virus (closure is due to an employee(s) at that office having the virus) the letter carriers also would deliver the mail out of an alternate location. This is done many times during the year as various issues causes an individual post office to close. Such as flooding, fires and chemical spills.

Q. What additional information PCI has uncovered regarding how signature service items are to be handled with social distancing regulations in place?

A. While maintaining a safe, appropriate distance, request the customer’s first initial and last name.

  • Using the MDD, scan the mail piece barcode, select Delivered and answer the prompted questions. Enter the customer’s first initial and last name when prompted for name.
  • When prompted for the customer to sign the MDD’s screen, employees are to print their own initials (not a signature), route number and notate C19 on the screen in lieu of the customer’s signature.
  • For Return Receipts and other hard copy items, enter the customer’s first initial and last name in the Signature box of the form
  • For PS Forms 3811 and 3849, employees are to print their own initials (not a signature), route number and notate C19 in the “Received by” or “Printed Name” section, dependent on the form. With the PS Form 3849, scan the completed form following the normal process to finalize the delivery.
  • Should the customer not answer the door the carrier will scan the item “Attempted Delivery” and leave a notice in the mail box advising the recipient the Certified Mail is at the post office. Then the normal process for notice left mail will be followed. After 5 days the letter carrier will leave a second notice (they do not scan this). The Post Office will then hold this item for 15 business days before marking it unclaimed. They are required to scan it unclaimed and return it to the sender.

PCI Group remains open and fully operational and committed to serve you to the best of our ability and we will continue to update you with the latest information as we become aware of it.

TIP: Several of our customers have begun to transition more of their communications to email to increase the speed of communications to their consumers. If you’d like to learn more about this, simply reply to this email.