Coronavirus changing delivery procedures

[bill937ca]

Just a heads up.  Canada Post is no longer be requesting signatures for any deliveries to the door due to the Coronavrus threat. Imagine this is the same or similar  in other locations.

 

This could be a factor if you make an expensive purchase or sell an expensive item.

 

https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/our-company/news-and-media/corporate-news/closures-and-service-interruptions-details.page?article=2020/03/15/public_update_covid_&cattype=announcements&cat=updates

[Cat]

USPS hasn't made any changes yet.  We've been getting a steady stream of Registered SAL packages here to sign for.  Our mail carrier was surprised at first that we've pulled out our own pen to do the signing.  The carrier is wearing gloves (no mask though), but everyone else who has used that pen hasn't.  I hope for everybody's sake they can change procedures soon.

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by Cat

[cteno4]

for now folks with more secure mail reception it would be good to use regular Sal as to not sign for things and lower carriers contact as well. 
 

Ok to use the pen if you have to (but smarter to use your own) just bring in package and place it somewhere out of the way for for a few hours or up to a day and go straight to wash hands. RNA viruses don’t like paper/cardboard as it porous snd sucks in moisture from any droplets and also acidic ph. You won’t get infected thru your hands unless open wounds there. Good hand washing will clean your hands. Gloves on the carriers will only protect them some really not you as gloves can spread virus just like skin can. Luckily our skin is one of the nastiest places for an RNA respiratory virus with a pretty short lifespan there (like 20-40minutes). Big to remember is just don’t touch your face once hands are contaminated and wash them often to keep them clean and not doing possible transfer somewhere when you touch things or touch your face (which we do by habit sooo much while out and about.) Other than getting coughed or sneezed on or close breathing/talking, transfer on fingers to nose, mouths and eyes is the next big transfer point.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[roadstar_na6]

German post and DHL now also asked the delivery drivers to sign for the parcel so no actual contact is made.

 

However many dumb and lazy drivers have been doing this for years and caused quite a bit of trouble 😄

[cteno4]

Btw I’ve had hundreds of unregistered Sal packages from japan to here in dc and in California in the last 20+ years and never had a single one go missing or destroyed (one got wet but contents ok). Really after a half dozen or so shippments you get yourself pretty self insured with the shipping savings and then it’s just savings after that for more trains! I’ve saved thousands on shipping over the years mainly doing Sal shipping.

 

jeff

[Welshbloke]

Royal Mail are ringing the doorbell, leaving the parcel on the step and then backing off a couple of metres. The postie will wait to confirm that you've opened the door and picked the item up.

[bill937ca]

Another change.  

 

"Canada Post has suspended the normal 15-day hold period and parcels left at the office for pickup will not be returned to the sender until further notice."

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canada-post-reduces-hours-install-barriers-covid-19-1.5507868

[Welshbloke]

Sensible. I wouldn't want to go to the Post Office at the moment. Ours is usually full of old people who have absolutely no intention of following advice on keeping your distance or not coughing on each other! Sadly I suspect they'll only start taking it seriously when their friends are on ventilators.

 

I have a couple of Glacier Express panorama cars somewhere in Japan trying to catch a plane, if they do make it across I'll be paying the demand online. Normally I'd go and pay/collect in person but not risking it.

[cteno4]

Air cargo may also be slowing down some or may focus on more needed supplies if lower number of flights, so expect there may be delays in shipping at times here.

 

jeff

[Welshbloke]

Yep, no passenger flights means less cargo space. At least I know where the parcel is, it's in a secure area and signed in so shouldn't be forgotten or go walkabout.

 

It's not waiting that bothers me so much as not knowing. Hearing that it's waiting its turn due to stress on the system and priority shipments is fine, paying for something and then hearing nothing isn't so good.

[cteno4]

Yes but in the scheme of things it’s just some trains that could be lost, not a terrible event. Let go of focusing on where the package is and just focus on a project in hand.
 

this is why I’ve used Sal so much as I’m sooo self insured now it’s not really costing me anything in the long run if there are eventually losses and I’ve only saved money as well. It’s also made me patient and not care about tracking as they eventually get here and I don’t sweat the few that have taken 4-5 weeks due to something along the way. One of the seldom times I have used ems tracking froze in transit between japan and us for like 6 days (usually 2-4 days total for EMS here). It was delivered barcode and all labeling in good condition but tracking stayed frozen as in the air! Just had to shrug.

 

again right now with everything else, loosing a train box is the least of our worries — we should count ourselves very lucky if that’s the worst that happens with all thats going on.

 

jeff

[roadstar_na6]

I highly doubt that any parcel will get lost somewhere and just reckon it might take a few days or weeks longer than usual.

 

At least that‘s just me giving myself some good thoughts for the 8 parcels that will be on their way to me soon 😄

[bill937ca]

On 3/23/2020 at 7:35 PM, cteno4 said:

RNA viruses don’t like paper/cardboard as it porous snd sucks in moisture from any droplets and also acidic ph. 

 

 

 

A recent study by U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases found that how long the virus can survive depends on the surface. The study found that viable virus could be detected on:

Plastic or stainless steel for up to three days.

Cardboard for 24 hours.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-19-surfaces-1.5509619

 

Coronavirus can persist on surfaces for days, new study says

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-surface-study-1.5501296

 

On cardboard, no viable SARS-CoV-2 was measured after 24 hours and no viable SARS-CoV-1 was measured after 8 hours (Figure 1A).

 

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973?query=featured_home

 

I plan to wear gloves when I open boxes and throw them out. Then wash my hands thoroughly.

 

 

Edited March 25, 2020 by bill937ca

[cteno4]

Again the safest is to just let them sit a few of days if you want to be safe. Tape and slicker printed cardboard are going to take longer for virus die off as it’s more like a plastic surface than the raw cardboard that is porus (absorbing moisture and trapping more of a droplet) and acidic. Patience pays off! 
 

gloves keep it off your skin and get you instant handwashing when you remove them. But do remember what you touch like knives and other surfaces can become contaminated, gloves don’t do anything about this. As long as no cuts on your hands, again corona won’t infect you thru the skin w.o open wounds. It can be argued that in low concentration contamination your skin can be a better killer and spread less RNA virus that the smooth surface of a glove that is more likely to preserve the droplet some and potentially transfer.
 

best to also save disposable gloves. Let them sit for a week and reuse. They are going to be in short supply and needed for essential services here.

 

five years in grad school working with animal viruses, animal tissue culture, radioactivity made me so highly aware at doing things simply like just letting the mail sit a few days. When ever you can avoid or minimize handling usually gets you the best results in sterile technique, contamination prevention, and decontamination. I don’t want to think how many times I had to tell someone they just touched their nose with gloves on while working with radioactivity! Yes The glove protected their finger, but not their nose! Nothing makes you feel stupider than standing there with a Geiger counter on your nose to see if you have to scrub it clean!

 

jeff

[Yavianice]

2 hours ago, cteno4 said:

I don’t want to think how many times I had to tell someone they just touched their nose with gloves on while working with radioactivity! Yes The glove protected their finger, but not their nose!

 

jeff

That reminds me of this ad for an insurance company.

 

 

On topic, the WHO says this about parcel mail and coronavirus (other health offices of countries, such as the US, say something similar):

 

Quote

 

Is it safe to receive a package from any area where COVID-19 has been reported?

 

Yes. 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, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low. 

 

 

So unless the delivery guy is sick (and therefor breaking quarantine rules/company policy etc.) coughed all over your package and then licked it for good measure before putting it in front of your door, and you then proceeding to lick it or touch it all over NBA style before sucking your thumb, picking your nose and rubbing your eyes, the risk of getting coronavirus from a package is negligible.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Yavianice
sneezed -> coughed

[roadstar_na6]

10 minutes ago, Yavianice said:

sneezed

That‘d be a sign it‘s not Corona tho

[Yavianice]

3 minutes ago, roadstar_na6 said:

That‘d be a sign it‘s not Corona tho

you get the point tho.

[cteno4]

46 minutes ago, Yavianice said:

So unless the delivery guy is sick (and therefor breaking quarantine rules/company policy etc.) coughed all over your package and then licked it for good measure before putting it in front of your door, and you then proceeding to lick it or touch it all over NBA style before sucking your thumb, picking your nose and rubbing your eyes, the risk of getting coronavirus from a package is negligible

Lol, yep that’s it! I probably spent 75% of my 5 years in lab in grad school being sterile for tissue culture or bacterial recombinant dna or working with radioactive samples, so it just became a way of life for me! I was using C14 and H3 so I could not use a Geiger counter to see if I screwed up right away but had to continually swipe and count in a big machine to see if I spilled. Never did and spotless record with environmental health and safety as well as the cleanest tissue culture (very very easy to contaminate). Mostly due to just thinking processes thru and doing them in the simplest way with the fewest steps/motions to screw up!

yes to be clean you assume the guy sneezed on it. Granted it’s really low low risk, the point is removing as many transmission points is the basis of the low concentration models. Mostly in this case if folks want to do something with packages just letting them sit is the cleanest way to go about it. Handling, opening, disposing with clean technique is not the best solution, letting it sits is simple and pretty foolproof from screwing up and having the glowing nose. Just the final mile you can do of worried and doing all the social distancing and wearing masks. The right way is wait a couple of days if you can to open it. Sometimes doing a very simple and ritualistic procedure like this can lower anxiety as well as being the cleanest approach.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

5 hours ago, roadstar_na6 said:

That‘d be a sign it‘s not Corona tho

I don’t want to get into a full corona virus discussion here, but nasal congestion, and thus sneezing, can happen with corona. The whole point is to assume corona unless tested in these situations.

 

enough on this here.

 

jeff

[Sheffie]

On a related note. Friends of mine go grocery shopping for general foods goods (nothing frozen or refrigerated) wearing gloves, and they just leave the food in the car for a few days. This gets around the problem of a random person coughing on packages in the shop. 

[cteno4]

Yep that’s the simple thinking that works best. The more steps the more chance you screw up or something slips thru. 
 

jeff

[Yavianice]

DHL Germany has suspended delivery to various countries until further notice. 
 

See for more information here https://www.dhl.de/coronavirus-en#international

[Yavianice]

Japan Post has also announced suspension, delays etc. For international mail and packages. See the full list here.

 

https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/information/2020/0319_01_en.html

 

i also posted this as a separate thread for visibility

Edited March 31, 2020 by Yavianice

[cteno4]

This weekend I got the notice that some of my items in my hlj virtual warehouse were nearing 60 day auto ship so I had to clear it out. There were a few Tomytec buildings that always seem to muck up hlj’s postal calculator (it can be a bit funky at times, only drag with them) and to do Sal I had to break it into two shipments and wasnt a huge difference to do DHL so I decided to do it. Basically 2 day delivery arriving today so there seems to be lots of room on dhl right now japan to us.

 

jeff

[AhmadKane]

Hey, I'm from Indonesia, and decided to get into the forum, (yay).

 

I noticed that a lot of countries have been in suspension, as with the list given by @Yavianice. But Indonesia is not on the list, and I can't seem to find the postal condition of international mail to Indonesia. 

 

Can anyone help?