Courier industry facing increased pressure amid COVID resurgence
Shot by Jiang Xiaowei. Edited by Sun Chao.
Affected by COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, Shanghai's courier industry has been facing increased pressure on personnel, transport and delivery.
Consumers may encounter situations such as untimely delivery of some parcels in the coming period, according to the Shanghai Postal Administration.
Staff are sorting parcels in a courier service station in Pudong on December 22.
The recent courier volume has increased to about 24,000 pieces a day, Ji Bin, director of a courier service station in Puxing Road Subdistrict, told Shanghai Daily on Thursday.
"We used to have about 30 staff members here, but now about six to seven are on sick leave every day due to the pandemic recently. So some will have to work overtime," Ji said.
"We will also prioritize the parcels to be delivered, making sure that medicines, food and masks will be delivered first", he added.
"I usually deliver about 350 orders a day, but now I'm adding 30-40 parcels and will also deliver more than 100 for colleagues who are sick. So I have to work from 5:30am to 8pm every day", rider Wang Qing, 23, told Shanghai Daily, "I had some fever two days ago and came back to work as soon as recovered."
Courier companies are trying to maximize human and material resources and ensure parcels and other related objects are thoroughly disinfected to cope with the challenges, according to the Shanghai Postal Administration.
