In a news release on Sunday, Canada Post said it plans to resume operations in St. John’s and Mount Pearl on Monday.
The announcement comes after service was suspended when an employee at the Kenmount Road facility tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 on March 23. The metro area service interruption also meant delays in mail and parcel delivery elsewhere in the province.
Canada Post said the facility has undergone two deep cleanings and thorough sanitization, following the guidance of Eastern Health.
Canada Post said it’s also worked closely with the public health authority to support contact tracing efforts.
“We’ve worked closely with the Newfoundland Public Health Authority experts and continue to follow their advice to establish timelines and work resumption plans. They’ve advised us that all tracing activity is now complete and any persons impacted will remain in quarantine under the direction of Public Health,” reads the news release.
“The entire facility has been sanitized and vehicles will be completed before Monday. We have also put additional physical-distancing measures in place throughout the facility. We are also keeping our local health and safety committee members and the local union up to date so we can continue to work together to put safety first.”
As was the case with recent snowstorms this year, it will take some time to work through backlogged deliveries.
“We will put safety first, not overload our people and ensure we are practicing social distancing,” reads the news release.
“We also ask customers to give our people space when they are doing their job – whether at the door, filling a community mailbox or working in a post office. Physical and social distancing are essential to us all getting through this together safely.
“We know the provincial and federal socio-economic cheques are important. We are working with our federal and provincial partners to prioritize these cheques and we will make our best efforts to deliver these as quickly as our operations level allows us to.”
