ARCHIVED - Post office opening times limited to 3 hours in the morning throughout Spain

Minimal services are being offered for the duration of the coronavirus crisis

The 2,500 offices of Correos, the Spanish post office, are to open for only three hours a day and the number of staff on duty is to be reduced for as long as the coronavirus emergency lasts, it was announced earlier this week, following a sharp fall in the number of people using the services offered since the health crisis began to escalate and an even sharper decline since the declaration of a national emergency at the weekend.

On Monday the number of people attended to in post offices dropped abruptly by 70 per cent from 300,000 on a normal weekday to only 88,000, and most of the services supplied were of an essential nature such as money transfers by giro.

Correos explains that it is working to ensure that postal deliveries continue but will be calling on the services of only the most essential staff, and offices will be open to the public only between 9.30 and 12.30. Similarly, afternoon and Saturday deliveries have been suspended in areas where they were still in operation, and for the time being notifications of fines and other official documents have also been shelved.

The procedures regarding any official notifications and fines which are pending a second attempt at delivery will be re-set so that when deliveries resume another “first” attempt can be made.

In addition, registered post will be left in letterboxes rather than delivered by hand wherever possible for the duration of the emergency, and no signature will be required.

If you are living in the "deepest campo" or in areas where delivery of post is traditionally an issue, this is the time to request a post box service at your post office!

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PLEASE help to support the flow and sharing of information by following this page and sharing the information into groups to which you have access.

What to do if you are in the Region of Murcia and believe you may have contracted the virus

The regional government has set up a special helpline to supply information to members of the public (900 121212), and also urges people to call the 112 emergency services line if they suspect that they may have contracted the virus rather than going straight to hospital or to a medical centre. Medical staff will be sent to your home to test for the virus.

The Region’s public hospitals have limited the number of visitors to just one per patient.

Sensible precautions

The advice being issued to members of the public by medical authorities all over the world coincides on the following points:

- Wash hands frequently with either soap and water or a sanitiser gel

- Catch coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues – and throw the tissues away immediately after use before immediately washing your hands!

- If you don’t have a tissue, use your sleeve – and wash the item of clothing used at the next opportunity

- AVOID touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands

- AVOID close contact with people who are unwell

- Don´t panic!

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