Luohu started disinfecting international parcels in nine designated areas from Feb. 9 due to concerns that they might carry the novel coronavirus.
The district also suspended inbound parcel delivery services on the same day. The addressees of the packages will be required to retrieve their parcels in the nine areas.
Xiao Zhen, an official with Luohu management branch of Shenzhen Transportation Bureau said that the district paid special attention to the disinfection work of inbound parcels. He added that they had set up a special team for the work. All 10 sub-district offices have also formed their own teams.
The outer packaging of the inbound parcels will be disinfected first after the parcels are transported from the warehouses of Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport to the disinfection spots in Luohu.
Then, professional disinfection personnel will open the packages with the addressees’ authorization and disinfect their contents as witnessed by the owners.
“We take different disinfection methods for different kinds of items,” Xiao said. “For corrosion-resistant and moisture-resistant items, we spray chlorine-containing disinfectants; for moisture-resistant items that are not resistant to corrosion, we wipe them with use 75% alcohol disinfectants; for items that are not resistant to moisture or corrosion, we use high-intensity ultraviolet disinfection machine.”
A resident surnamed He at the Heping Road disinfection spot said that he came to collect a gift sent by his French customer. “Seeing the staff disinfect the parcels makes me feel assured of the safety of the parcel.”
The Heping Road disinfection spot has disinfected more than 50 inbound parcels, mostly containing food, clothes, documents, and daily necessities.
Luohu will summarize the experience of the nine disinfection spots to help improve services. Meanwhile, enterprises that receive large numbers of international parcels will be required to implement strict epidemic prevention and control measures.