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Following the lifting of the emergency status declared in Latvia, from the 10th of June the provision of a number of services at Latvijas Pasts is returning to normal conditions, which were changed with the aim of containing the spread of COVID-19. However, security measures at the post offices and during the provision of customer service are still in place, including the use of protective glass sheets and personal protective face shields, increased disinfection of equipment and keeping a safe distance.
Starting from Wednesday, the 10th of June, the provision of a number of services at Latvijas Pasts is returning to normal, while keeping restrictions for part of the services and continuing to comply with epidemiological safety requirements and recommendations.
Evaluating the necessary security measures, all post office counters providing customer service will continue to be equipped with protective glass sheets that minimise contact between the post office employee and the visitor. The equipment of post offices and other structural units will be disinfected as before, and the employees will continue to observe personal safety measures, such as using disinfectants, as well as face shields or masks and gloves in case of direct contact with the customer. Customers at the post offices must still maintain a distance of two metres, and it is recommended that as many people as there are service cash register systems stay at the post office at the same time.
Post offices in shopping centres have already resumed work on Saturdays and Sundays, but based on the assessment of the demand for postal services and security risks other post offices will continue to work from Monday to Friday, and the need to resume operations on Saturdays as well will be assessed. Most small postal service outlets in rural areas, where the postal services during the emergency situation are provided on demand, will continue to operate in this mode even after the 9th of June, evaluating the demand for postal services and the feedback from customers and postal employees.
International postal items that used to be stored in outdoor tents for up to 72 hours during the emergency situation before processing them at the sorting centre of Latvijas Pasts will be handed over for immediate processing without quarantine upon receipt at Latvijas Pasts from the 10th of June. As the emergency status is lifted, when issuing registered items to customers postmen and couriers will no longer record the fact of delivery of the item on the mobile smart device themselves, but the customer will sign for the receipt of the item as before.
The 60-day period of storing items at post offices free of charge will no longer be in effect as of the 10th of June: after resumption of the regular procedure free storage of small packets and parcels at post offices will be 10 days, but the total storage time will be 30 days; in turn, letters will be stored at post offices free of charge for 30 days. Items will be stored in the parcel lockers of Latvijas Pasts for three days also after the termination of the emergency situation.
Even after the emergency status is lifted, the first day cancellation of newly issued stamps will not be resumed at the post offices in order to avoid crowding, and those interested in new philatelic releases will have the opportunity to cancel postage stamps on an individual basis contacting the Stamp and Philately Department of Latvijas Pasts by writing to the e-mail address: filatelija@pasts.lv.
Since international passenger air traffic has been resumed to a minimum and many restrictions on international traffic are still in place, the flow of postal items to foreign countries remains hampered, as postal operators in all countries have to look for alternatives to transport postal items, including by road, sea and also rail. Delays in the international flow of postal items and restricted deliveries are expected until the full resumption of passenger air traffic.
Latvijas Pasts has compiled a list of the most up-to-date questions and answers, summarising all the most important information on the provision of postal services after the termination of the emergency situation as of the 10th of June 2020: this information is available on the website of Latvijas Pasts here.
In case of additional changes in the provision of postal services, Latvijas Pasts will immediately communicate public information about them.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with over 3,400 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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