Consider giving your mailbox a wipe and please keep your distance from letter carriers as part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19, says the president of the Victoria local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
“Think about the surfaces that we need to touch to get your mail to you,” said Jessica Dempster. “And every day, give them a good wipe so that we know they’re clean.”
Those touch points include handrails and areas around doors, as well as the surfaces of large, community mailboxes, including those in apartments, Dempster said.
“Take a wipe with you when you go to pick up your mail and just give all the surfaces you can a wipe,” she said. “It helps keep us and everybody else safe.”
Leaving the lid of a mailbox in the up position also helps, she said. “Then we don’t have to touch it.”
Dempster also advises staying two metres away when a letter carrier comes to your door.
“People are very happy to see us, but nonetheless,” Dempster said. “And a lot of people are home right now, so please don’t open your door and let your dog out. We’re seeing a lot more exposure to dogs because of that.”
Another way of lending a hand is setting up a cleaning area for letter carriers, now that many businesses are closed, she said.
That can include leaving some hand sanitizer or setting up a small hand-washing station at your community mailbox or at your door. “That’s really helpful to us,” Dempster said. “It’s kind of hard to wash our hands out there.”
She said workers have used up hand sanitizer that was donated and, like others, are now finding it hard to get.
In a statement, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said it is monitoring measures being taken in Canada Post facilities to cut down on the risk of the virus spreading — although the risk of spread via the postal system is low.
There is no known risk of the virus coming into Canada on parcels and packages, the union said.
Preventive steps were taken by Canada Post last week when two workers tested positive for COVID-19 in St. John’s.
Postal workers are considered essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Dempster, adding more people are ordering items online to avoid going to stores — or because stores are closed. “So we’re there to help people stay home, because the more people who stay home, the better chance we have of getting through this with the least amount of damage.”
