OLDS - Recent weeks’ mail delivery disruption and post office closures are the result of positive COVID-19 diagnoses in staff, a Canada Post spokesperson has confirmed.
“The post office has closed intermittently while we perform sanitization of the facility, which can delay deliveries. We thank our customers for their patience and understanding, said Canada Post media relations spokesperson Niccole Lecompte in an email in response to questions.
Throughout the month of December, Lecompte said Canada Post has been notified that a few employees at the Olds Canada Post office have tested positive for COVID-19.
The retail side of the post office was most recently closed for the full day on Monday, Dec. 14. Mail was still being processed with minimal delivery.
The resulting pent-up demand for counter services upon re-opening a day later added to the development of socially-distanced line-ups outside the post office which at times snaked around the building.
Occupancy in the lobby has been reduced to four people other than staff since the province mandated new restrictions on capacity for retail outlets to help stop the spread of COVID-19
The most recent closure came the same day Canada Post officials announced new domestic holiday shipping deadlines to help the federal Crown corporation deliver the pre-Christmas parcel surge.
Most local, regional and national Priority parcels destined domestically had a maximum mailing cut-off date of Friday, Dec. 18.
The retail post office and mail processing were also closed half a day on Monday, Dec. 7.
In each instance that the Olds post office staff tested positive, Lecompte said the employees are believed to have been exposed to the virus outside of the workplace, she said.
"While at work, the employees followed our physical distancing measures and wore personal protective equipment. We have followed the guidance of public health in informing employees, supporting contact tracing and conducting a sanitization of the affected areas of the post office," she said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Lecompte said Canada Post has committed to closely following the advice of public health officials at the national and local level in order to keep the employees and the people they serve safe.
"Following their guidance, we've implemented numerous measures in all facets of our operations, and we follow the by-laws and requirements in each community," she said.
"We've implemented physical distancing in all our facilities, have visible markings, staggered start times where necessary, increased cleaning and availability of safety equipment and sanitizers and provided reusable face coverings, which are mandatory in all of our facilities across the country for our employees and customers. We regularly talk to employees and require they do a self-assessment before arriving for work," she said.
