The rapidly spreading and disruptive Covid-19 landed on the shores of South Africa, and after suspending major public events around the world, it has now forced the SA Post Office (SAPO) to suspend its outgoing and incoming mail to countries of the far east until further notice

The Covid-19 virus which spreads through the air via droplets when an infected person speaks, sneezes, coughs or breathes. The virus has a lifespan of a couple of hours to a day on surfaces, has resulted in the national postal service to suspend its services to far east countries.

In a statement on Wednesday, SAPO said packages from Covid-19 countries are thought to be safe due to the window period the virus has on surfaces being shorter than the time it takes for packages to arrive in the country. However due to the logistical challenges faced by the airline carrier which the SAPO uses to transport mail in light of the Covid-19 epidemic; mail to and from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Kuala Lumpur has been suspended. Mail destined for Hong Kong will not be affected.

SAPO extended its apologies to its customers and said it would resume its services once alternative arrangements have been made with different airlines.