Beijing's parcel delivery service has been partly affected due to the latest cluster of COVID-19 infections at a courier service station in Fangshan district, southwestern Beijing, on Saturday.

A staff worker of express company ZTO's branch in Chaoyang district said on Sunday that the company's operations in the region have been affected. 

"Though parcels are now processed normally, the delivery service has been halted in some areas," the worker said.

The worker noted that the suspension was caused by mass inspection and disinfection procedures across multiple courier hubs belonging to ZTO, and the measures may be launched due to the cluster infections in Fangshan district.

"Chaoyang and Fangshan bear the brunt of the latest wave of Omicron outbreak," the ZTO staffer said. "Operations in Chaoyang district may resume in three to four days after disinfection and inspection is completed."

Fangshan district on Saturday imposed strict anti-epidemic measures, and suspended bus, subway and car-hailing services as the Beijing municipal government reported a cluster of infections at a courier station of express company Yunda's Fangshan branch, linked to 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Beijing officials said on Sunday that there are five more infected cases in Yunda's cluster infections, taking the total number of the infected to 21. 

Officials from Fangshan announced efforts to track more than 200,000 parcels that have the risk of spreading the virus and appealed to the public to report symptoms to local community offices immediately.

"Yunda's operation in Beijing has been suspended at present due to the cluster infections," a staff worker from a Yunda branch in Chaoyang district said on Sunday, noting that there was no date for the resumption of delivery services.

The State Post Bureau held a meeting on Saturday and vowed to cooperate with the local government and Yunda to address the cluster infections in Fangshan district promptly.

Yunda told the Global Times on Sunday that the company's headquarters and Beijing branch will take responsibility for controlling the virus and tracking high-risk parcels. Yunda also vowed to organize branches across the country to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by logistics channels.

Global Times