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COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updates

Updated: 5/23/2022

ShipMonk’s Covid Response

Our teams at ShipMonk know that this uncertain time can cause added worry for the protection and handling of our clients’ products and those responsible for them day-to-day. We want to assure you that we are working diligently to maintain a safe and sanitized environment across all of our facilities. Please see the below steps we are taking to protect the workplace and our team members:

Warehouse Daily Sanitation

 

Shipping Updates 

All carriers are reporting delays throughout the world on domestic and international shipments. All carriers have suspended guaranteed deliveries on express shipments. In addition, some carriers have had to either partially or fully suspend shipments to various countries. The current suspensions by shipping carrier are listed below.

ShipMonk has proactively routed orders affected by the temporary suspensions to ‘Action Required’. We have also extended the time period before an order is moved to ‘At Risk’ to account for the delays.

DHL eCommerce

DHL International Direct has suspended shipments destined to the following countries:

  • China

DHL Express International has suspended shipments destined to the following countries:

  • North Korea

DHL eCommerce has suspended shipments destined to the following countries for the method of Packet Plus:

  • French Guiana
  • French Polynesia
  • Guadalupe
  • Iran
  • Libya
  • Martinique
  • New Caledonia
  • Reunion
  • Somalia
  • Sudan
  • Yemen

DHL eCommerce has suspended shipments destined to the following countries for the method International Standard:

  • French Guiana
  • French Polynesia
  • Guadalupe
  • Iran
  • Libya
  • Martinique
  • New Caledonia
  • Reunion
  • Somalia
  • Sudan
  • Yemen

DHL eCommerce has suspended shipments destined to the following countries for the method of Packet Priority:

  • French Guiana
  • Guadalupe
  • Iran
  • Martinique
  • Reunion
  • Somalia
  • Turkmenistan
  • Yemen

DHL eCommerce has suspended shipments destined to the following countries for the method of IPA:

  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Eswatini
  • French Guiana
  • Guadalupe
  • Iran
  • Laos
  • Martinique
  • Mayotte
  • Mongolia
  • Reunion
  • Samoa
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • St. Pierre
  • Tajikistan
  • Timor-Leste
  • Turkmenistan
  • Yemen

For additional DHL service updates, visit: https://www.simplydhl.com/covid-19updates

FedEx

FedEx has fully suspended shipments destined to the following countries:

  • American Samoa
  • Bhutan
  • East Timor
  • Eritrea
  • Guadalupe
  • Lesotho
  • Mongolia
  • Norfolk Island

For additional FedEx service updates, visit: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/coronavirus.html

Passport

As of May 5th, Passport has notified us that they will be adjusting their Estimated Delivery Dates using data analyzed from parcels shipped out from March 15th to April 30th. The adjustments have been made based upon factors:

  1. the average delivery delay based on delivered shipments,
  2. the standard deviation of delivery delays over a normal distribution, and
  3. the delivery success rate to a country (e.g., how many of the parcels that were expected to be delivered vs. how many actually were delivered).

While Passport is unable to predict exact numbers, their analysis can be found here.

The rollout of the adjusted Estimated Delivery Dates is as follows and is backdated to all shipments from April 20th on:

  • Monday, 5/4: Date adjustments for all ePacket DDU shipments
  • Tuesday, 5/5: Date adjustments for all DDP shipments
  • Wednesday, 5/6: Date adjustments for all IPA+ shipments

In light of these changes, they’ve added the following banner to their tracking pages: “Due to COVID-19 precautions, packages may take longer than expected to process. Your Estimated Delivery Date may be updated based on new information and data from your country. For more details, please visit our service alerts page.”

Passport has partially suspended shipments destined to the following countries: 

  • Chile – international inbound mail addressed to Easter Island will no longer be accepted 
  • Spain – no delivery to the Barcelona area

Passport has fully suspended shipments destined to the following countries: 

  • Afghanistan
  • Australia (DDU only)
  • Bhutan
  • Brunei
  • Cuba
  • East Timor
  • Eritrea
  • Guadeloupe
  • Guinea
  • Laos
  • Martinique
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand (DDU only)
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Reunion (Boubon)
  • Solomon Islands
  • Syria
  • Tajikistan
  • Timor-Leste
  • Turkmenistan
  • Yemen

As of 12/21/21, Passport reports delays to the following countries: 

  • Slovakia (Covid-19)


For additional Passport service updates, visit: https://passportshipping.com/service-alerts

UPS

For UPS service updates, visit: https://www.ups.com/us/en/service-alerts.page

USPS

USPS has fully suspended shipments destined to the following countries:

  • Afghanistan
  • Australia (All USPS methods)
  • Bhutan
  • Brunei
  • Cuba
  • French Guiana
  • Guadeloupe
  • Laos
  • Libya
  • Martinique
  • Mayotte
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Reunion (Bourbon)
  • Saint Pierre
  • Samoa
  • South Sudan
  • Syria
  • Tajikistan
  • Timor-Leste
  • Turkmenistan
  • Yemen

For additional USPS service updates, visit: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/welcome.htm

ShipMonk Policy Statement

The health, safety, and wellbeing of our employees, merchants, and communities is our primary concern. Considering the impact this situation has on your business, we wanted to convey our internal policies. As new developments unfold, we’ll be adapting this policy and communicating it to the parties involved. 

All guidance in this policy​ ​has been prepared after reviewing what is currently known about the COVID-19 virus from the CDC and other governmental sources. This information changes rapidly, and therefore​ ​ShipMonk’s responses to these changes may also change.

ShipMonk Response Plans

In order to protect our employees from this virus, with guidance from the CDC, ShipMonk has​ ​implemented a number of policies and procedures to reduce our employee’s risk of exposure​ ​including:

  • Regular communication with all employees regarding this virus and our company plans
  • Communication on proper hygiene and hand washing to avoid the spread of infection
  • Posters displayed in all work areas with CDC hygiene and handwashing​ ​recommendations
  • Asking people with flu, cough, or cold symptoms or any signs of respiratory illness to​ ​​​​remain at home or leave work, and seek medical treatment if necessary (those without​ ​health insurance should contact the local Health Department, find resources here: https://www.naccho.org/membership/lhd-directory)
  • Eliminating all Company-sponsored international travel until further notice; manager approval is required for domestic travel 
  • Company face to face meetings have been canceled and are replaced by video conferencing or telephone calls
  • Remote work options for employees
  • Utilizing all current operational tools and protocols we have in place to clean, disinfect, and sanitize all critical touchpoints and have increased the frequency of all such actions.
  • Hand sanitizer, Kleenex and sanitizing wipes available for use at all locations
  • Advised temp agencies not to send workers to our sites who have symptoms

In addition, the following measures have been implemented effective immediately:

  • Managers will modify meal and rest break schedules to reduce the number of employees interacting in break rooms and common areas
  • Supervisors will conduct visual check of all employees at the beginning of each shift and periodically during the shift to determine if they are ill and should be sent home
  • Warehouses will follow deep cleaning and sterilization procedures every day, including frequent disinfecting of common surfaces
  • Hand sanitizers available by each time station to ensure that employees sanitize before touching equipment
  • Warehouses will keep work groups separated to the extent possible
  • Equipment and tools are being labeled and assigned, so they are not shared between staff
  • Further measures to increase frequency of cleaning work stations and handheld equipment at the end of each shift are in place
  • Suspension of attendance policy/point system for warehouse employees who miss work for documented respiratory illnesses until further notice
  • Scheduling of pre-shift meetings at each location to review COVID-19 protocol for hygiene and safety
  • Employees must update emergency contact information in Zenefits (via supervisor)
  • Review assembly and production areas for proper space between associates
  • Designate “exit” pathway for an employee that shows signs of illness to limit exposure to others
  • External visitors to ShipMonk must be approved by the General Manager and escorted while in our facilities.

What to do if an employee has been exposed or is symptomatic:

All employees should familiarize themselves with the information from the CDC website regarding symptoms, and what to do if they are sick. Also, employees should refer to the CDC’s Risk Assessment Public Health Management Decision Making to assess their risk.

  • All employees are to report to their supervisor immediately if they are experiencing respiratory symptoms.
  • All supervisors are to conduct a visual check of all employees at the beginning of each shift and periodically during the shift to determine if any are ill and should be sent home.
  • If any employee appears to have acute respiratory illness symptoms at work; namely fever, cough or shortness of breath, they should be separated from other employees and sent home immediately.
  • Supervisors will utilize an accident report to document any illnesses attributed to COVID-19, immediately notify their site Responsiveness Task Force members and conduct a site risk assessment.

To protect the health and welfare of all of our employees, any employee with a confirmed COVID-19 case or suspected case will remain at home and will not return to work until testing is complete and they are medically cleared.

  • If an employee has been confirmed with COVID-19, fellow employees will be notified of their possible exposure in the workplace while maintaining confidentiality as required. Employee privacy and confidential health information will be protected. Customers and vendors will also be notified if direct contact occurred.
  • ShipMonk location(s) will be commercially sterilized if an infection occurs.
  • Employees exposed to a co-worker with confirmed COVID-19 should refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a personal risk assessment of their potential exposure.
  • Based on our risk assessments, employees may be sent home if they worked closely with a known infected employee for a 14-day period to ensure the infection does not spread. Infected employees will be asked to identify all individuals who worked in close proximity (three to six feet) with them in the previous 14 days.
  • Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and HR and refer to the CDC guidance for risk assessment and next steps.
  • If a public health order is issued, and employees are quarantined and not able to work, they must follow those instructions and report this to their supervisor immediately.

ShipMonk will continue to update our merchants and employees as information becomes available.