Illustrative stock photo (source: TASR)
The national postal service operator Slovenská Pošta has changed the delivery system of registered mail in order to protect the health of people and frontline post workers.
The changes follow the declaration of a national emergency, the TASR newswire reported.
Big packages will remain at the post
The delivery of ordinary letters will not change. However, if the envelope is too big and does not fit in the letterbox, the letter carriers will leave a note on the yellow paper in the letterbox stored at a post office.
The same principle will be applied to registered mail. If it fits into the letterbox, the recipient will find it there, but if not, the mail will be stored at the post office, explained Iveta Dorčáková, spokesperson of Slovenská Pošta, as reported by TASR.
Official consignments, insured letters, cash on delivery registered mail, delivery and r-delivery notes, in-house deliveries, postal and payment vouchers delivered with cash, along with parcels, should be delivered in an open space, for example in front of a house, or with the mail carrier or courier ringing the recipient with the bell.
“When receiving consignments, it is important to observe hygienic measures, i.e. the recipient must wear a well-fitted respirator, they must have their own pen and must maintain their distance,” Dorčáková said, as quoted by TASR.
If the recipient is not at home, the letter carrier or courier will leave a note in their letterbox informing them about the storage of their consignment at the post office.
The post calls for caution
At the same time, Slovenská Pošta has asked those in quarantine to inform the letter carriers, from a safe distance, that they cannot take the consignment.
The postal operator is applying other measures to minimise the risk of spreading Covid. This includes a limited number of people at the post offices. Only one person per 25 square metres is currently allowed inside. Customers must also keep a safe 2m distance from one another, also when waiting in the queue in front of the post office.
People are also required to wear FFP2/KN95 respirators, and recommended to bring gloves and a pen to the post office and pay with a payment card. Hand disinfectants are available.
Customers should also use online services when possible, such as through the mobile app, or use the BalíkoBoxes machines.
