A staff of China Post disinfects packages in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 23, 2021. Logistics companies in Shijiazhuang have strengthened disinfection measures as the COVID-19 prevention and control efforts to make sure the safety of their employees and customers. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

 
The State Post Bureau of China has issued a notice to tighten regulations for overseas post and mail in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 from overseas.

In a notice released on its official WeChat account on Monday, the state post bureau called for epidemic prevention and control measures for express mail imported from high-risk countries and regions, including comprehensive risk assessment based on the source of the imported mail, the qualifications of the mailer, and the attributes of the items delivered.

It also suggested that people should reduce mail and express delivery of goods from countries and regions with a high risk of COVID-19 in order to prevent transmission of the virus through international mail.

With the Spring Festival approaching and the Beijing Winter Olympics around the corner, there is strong demand for delivery services, so prevention and control of imported COVID-19 cases is a complicated task, the bureau said.

The bureau asked relevant enterprises to ramp up efforts in disinfection and ventilation for international express. Disinfection of mail and packages and the length of rest time following disinfection should be standardized and carried out in strict accordance with relevant standards and guidelines for local epidemic prevention and control departments.

The bureau has also asked enterprises to carry out strict health monitoring and nucleic acid testing for personnel in high-risk positions with a closed-loop management process. All international express mail handlers and delivery personnel must be fully vaccinated, it said.

According to the notice, postal administrations at all levels must carry out supervision and inspection of international express mail at least once a month and strengthen inspections during the Spring Festival and The Beijing Winter Olympics, with a 24-hour duty system and a reporting system.