With many Canadians isolating at home and shopping more online, Canada Post is now processing and delivering parcels at levels only experienced during the busiest weeks of the Christmas season.
Canada Post is advising customers across the country to expect delays with their parcel deliveries. The heavy incoming parcel volumes, combined with the important safety measures they have implemented in the processing facilities, mean it is taking longer to process. Those measures include physical distancing in facilities that were never designed for keeping people two metres apart.
They continue to operate across the country and have been delivering in record numbers. For example, on Monday April 20, they delivered more than 1.8 million parcels to Canadians. That’s similar to the biggest delivery days they see during the Christmas season. Customers should continue to track their parcels online through canadapost.ca or the Canada Post app.
Parcel Delivery: To eliminate customer interactions at the door, reduce post office customer traffic and support social and physical distancing, they have implemented a Knock, Drop and Go approach. Delivery employees knock or ring, choose the safest location available to leave the item and then depart for the next address. This change eliminates the need for signatures at the door, speeds up delivery and has greatly reduced the number of parcels sent to the post offices for pickup.
Parcel pickup at post office: For the remaining parcels left at the post office for pickup (items requiring ID), they will not be returned-to-sender until further notice. Canada Post has suspended the normal 15-day hold period. They ask that customers who are feeling ill or self-isolating, to please delay their visit to the post office and to pick up their parcel when it’s safe to do so.
For a full list of the changes put in place and other updates related to COVID-19, please visit canadapost.ca