U.S. Postal Service Provides Update on Shipments to Italy

The U.S. Postal Service provided an update today regarding shipments destined to Italy.

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Last week, USPS informed shippers that Poste Italiane, Italy’s postal service, suspended deliveries of packages and mail in Northern Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak in that region.

UPS and FedEx also warned customers it had stopped operations in parts of Northern Italy affected by the quickly rising outbreak of coronavirus cases.

While the Italian government now has placed the entire country under a quarantine, Poste Italiane has resumed operations in the initially affected areas of Northern Italy and continues to deliver mail and packages throughout Italy.

However, the Italian postal service is taking some additional precautions that may delay some shipments or require recipients to pick up their mail and packages.

• All mail items, including registered mail, insured letters, and parcels, will be deposited in mailboxes with a notice signed by the mail carrier informing the recipient of this temporary measure.
• If the addressee is absent or refuses to accept this mode of delivery, the mail carrier will leave a notice of delivery and instructions in the recipient’s mailbox, enabling the recipient to collect the item from a post office.
• Items rejected by the addressee will be returned to the sender.

NEWER UPDATE AVAILABLE HERE: U.S. Postal Service Status on International Mail Shipments

Other Couriers Report Resumption of Operations in Italy

The Italian country-wide quarantine does not impact the movement of goods to and from Italy or inside the country.

While the quarantine order has placed restrictions on some businesses and organizations and is explicitly trying to discourage larger gatherings of people, it is not as restrictive and detrimental to the economy as China’s quarantine.

In addition to Poste Italiane, other courier services such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL have also resumed full operations in previously affected areas of Northern Italy and continue to do so in the entire country.

Online merchants and marketplace sellers should still notify Italian recipients that shipments can be delayed due to the country-wide quarantine and pro-actively track orders en route and stay in touch with customers.

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