Starting from Wednesday, the 7^th of April the provision of a number of services rendered by Latvijas Pasts is returning to normal, but some will still be subject to restrictions, continuing to comply with epidemiological safety requirements and recommendations.

 

From the 7^th of April on-site trade will no longer be restricted by product lists, and post office visitors will be able to purchase all goods available at the post office.

 

With the end of the state of emergency, the condition laid down in law regarding the obligation for the addressee to sign in the date and signature area of the informative notice or on the sensor of the signature capturing device, which serves as proof that the particular item has been delivered, is now effective again. The procedure in force at the time of the emergency, which allowed couriers, postmen and post office employees to record the fact of delivery of an item on their own, is no longer in place once the emergency has been lifted. This means that from the 7^th of April the addressee again must sign in the information notice or electronic signature device for the receipt of several types of items: registered items, insured items and express mail.

 

In order to minimise the risk of the continued spread of COVID-19 that could be caused by customers signing in the electronic devices, Latvijas Pasts has prepared a relevant proposal for submission to the Ministry of Transport, so that the procedure established during the state of emergency regarding the receipt of an item, when the fact of delivery is recorded by postal employees, is maintained in the future too.

 

According to Cabinet Regulations No. 360 Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection, the provision of Latvijas Pasts services continues to take place in compliance with all epidemiological safety requirements. All post office counters providing customer service are equipped with special protective glass barriers that minimise contact between the post office employee and the visitor; the equipment of post offices and other structural units is thoroughly disinfected as before, and the employees continue to observe personal safety measures, such as using disinfectants as well as face masks and gloves in case of direct contact with the customer.

 

Customers must continue to maintain a distance of two metres at post offices, and the number of people who may stay in the premises at the same time is indicated in the notice on the front door of the post office, so customers may have to wait for the receipt of their service outside the post office. 15 square metres of space must be ensured in order to serve one customer at the post office, and as a result of this requirement the number of service cash registers at several dozens of post offices has been reduced by several dozens.

 

After the lifting of the state of emergency, the first day cancellation of newly issued stamps will not be resumed at 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.

 

As the spread of COVID-19 continues, the negative effects of the virus have a significant impact also on the capabilities of Latvijas Pasts to ensure immediate and steady deliveries of items to all groups of addressees. The organisation of the postmen’s work has changed for the protection of the employees and customers, aiming to reduce contact to the minimum and thus carrying out gradual deliveries of postal items. There are an increasing number of situations where the delivery opportunities are also affected by the need to temporarily replace staff at certain post offices and delivery points by substituting them with colleagues from other divisions or bringing on temporary employees. As a consequence, the timely provision of deliveries may be temporarily hampered in some areas. 

 

International passenger traffic between many countries is still suspended or restricted as a result of the measures taken worldwide to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, which is causing restrictions and/or delays in the cross-border exchange of postal items also today. Any timelines and quality standards for the delivery of postal items are currently not being followed at the international level. 

 

In case of additional changes in the provision of postal services, Latvijas Pasts will immediately communicate public information about them.

 

 

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 around 3,200 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:

Vineta Danielsone | Senior Public Relations Project Manager

E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; vineta.danielsone@pasts.lv

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