3 SingPost employees have Covid-19, package delivery could be slightly delayed as unit suspends operations

SINGAPORE — Package delivery services at Singapore Post (SingPost) may be slightly delayed until operations resume on Monday (March 30), after three staff members working there were confirmed to be infected by the coronavirus.

In a statement on Friday (March 27), SingPost said that the staff members were working at its restricted packet-sorting area. “As a result, members of the public should note that delivery of packages may be slightly delayed as cleaning and disinfection are underway.” 

Packet processing operations were suspended to ensure thorough cleaning and disinfection, and to facilitate further contact tracing by the relevant authorities. 

Letter mail delivery is not affected during this time, it added.

“We seek the kind understanding of the public during this difficult time.

“SingPost will also like to stress that there is no known risk of contracting the virus through physical items so far,” it said.

In its update on Friday, the Ministry of Health identified SingPost Centre as a new cluster for Covid-19. SingPost said that all employees working on the same floor as the confirmed cases have been instructed to stay home until further notice, while contact tracing efforts are underway.

The first infected employee is a contract worker attached to the packet-processing facility at SingPost Centre in Paya Lebar. The worker was confirmed to have Covid-19 on Wednesday, and was last at the facility on March 19.

Following that, two full-time employees working on the same floor tested positive for the virus on Friday.

“This is despite SingPost’s strict health-screening and social distancing protocol for all contractors and staff members,” its spokesperson said.

The two full-time SingPost employees are not postmen and do not have contact with members of the public in their line of work.

In a separate statement, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) asked that the public be patient and understanding if there are delays in their packet deliveries in the coming week.

“IMDA will work with SingPost to minimise impact on mail operation, and to support its efforts to protect the health and well-being of postal workers.”