The Covid-19 pandemic left only essential services operating globally. However you may be surprised what some countries deem as “essential”.

Angry Australia Post customers have taken to social media to claim they’re still being forced to collect their parcels from post offices – despite being home to collect packages.

The organisation’s Facebook page has been littered with complaints that posties are failing to wait a reasonable amount of time after knocking or buzzing with a delivery.

Many claim that by the time they answer the door, the courier has vanished, leaving behind a card with details for the package to be collected in person at an Australia Post branch.

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It’s an especially frustrating situation given more of us are working from home than ever before due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and it means affected customers will have no choice but to leave their homes to collect their goods even as social distancing restrictions are in place.

“Absolutely disgraceful Australia Post. Your driver rang the doorbell and immediately left today. The height of laziness. Not good enough, I want action taken,” one Facebook user wrote, while another added: “Exactly what I’m experiencing again and again. I’m literally sat next to the buzzer too.”

“Same here they don’t even come up the drive” another posted, while another questioned: “So why was I carded when I was home all day? Now I have to make a non-essential trip to pick up a package from the post office. Deliverless, not contactless!”

“I received a delivery notice to pick a parcel up from the post office as no one was home. I’m not sure if your couriers realise, Australia Post, but all of Australia is home!!! I know all six of us are! No knock or doorbell was heard. Is this just laziness???” another claimed, while many others complained of long delays on deliveries.

The coronavirus outbreak has led to a massive spike in parcel volumes for Australia Post, almost doubling in the last four weeks and jumping up by 80 per cent compared to last

year.

Parcel volumes are now at a similar level to peak periods such as Christmas and online sales such as Black Friday and Boxing Day.

The organisation has also adapted to the pandemic by adopting a range of in-store safety measures such as increased signage about social distancing, providing hand sanitisation and installing perspex barriers as well as general health advice to staff, the temporary closure of self service terminals and eliminating the requirement of signatures for delivery or collection.

An Australia Post spokesman told news.com.au “significant reductions” in airfreight capacity meant there would be “severe delays on the letters and parcels network that Australia Post operates around the country”, especially for regional and rural communities.

“Our people are working harder than ever to deliver mail and parcels safely. Our posties and drivers are instructed to knock at the door three times and call out before leaving a card or safe-dropping the parcel,” the spokesman said.

“Sometimes they will leave a card without knocking because of access or safety issues – this could happen even when a customer is home.

“We are observing social distancing in all our outlets and facilities and have implemented extra safety measures to protect anyone who may need to go in-store. However, these measures also mean that we are unable to simply put on more people, like we would do during peak Christmas periods.”

The spokesman said Australia Post thanked customers for their patience, and stressed “we’re working as hard as we can to get parcels to them as quickly as possible”.

Australia Post will also retrain 2000 motorbike posties to deliver and process parcels to help manage the unprecedented parcel volumes being sent across the country.

The federal government has also announced temporary changes.

The temporary regulatory relief requested by Australia Post and agreed by the government includes removing the Priority Mail letter product, adjusting the existing service standards on other letters to enable Australia Post to deliver letters in metropolitan areas every second day and extending the required delivery time for regular intrastate letters to five days.