Covid-19 DHL Express - UK Update

Providing information to support our customers

The background and latest situation

In late December 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) was alerted to a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of People’s Republic of China (PRC). Upon further investigation, a Novel Coronavirus (nCoV), a new strain of coronavirus first detected in humans, was identified. On January 30, 2020 The Director-General of the WHO declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. 

The disease caused by the Novel Coronavirus is now officially named COVID-19 (the causing virus is now called Sars-CoV-2). 

On March 11, 2020 The Director-General of the WHO stated that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic.

The UK government confirmed on 12 March, 2020 that the UK is moving from the contain phase to the delay phase. This is in an attempt to stop the virus spreading as quickly and to allow the NHS to be best prepared

DHL Express is part of the DPDHL Group and our global experts are constantly assessing the situation.
As a globally operating company, epidemic and pandemic risk scenarios are an integral part of the Group‘s continuous risk planning. Accordingly, DPDHL business operations are continually adapted to mitigate potential impacts. 

The Group‘s task force closely monitors the situation, coordinates with international organizations (such as the WHO) and provides the necessary information to all employees and relevant operations. 

The safety of our employees and customers is paramount and the situation is changing rapidly, therefore constant monitoring is required. Under the supervision of the Group’s task force, we have contingency measures in place to mitigate any potential impact. 

Are your operations affected in China?

Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 outbreak in China, the local government in Hubei province has implemented a series of strict controls to prevent the spread of the disease. These include cancelling commercial flights to and from the city of Wuhan, as well as closing all highways and roads into Wuhan. As a result, DHL’s pick-up, delivery and warehousing services in Hubei province are currently suspended. We will resume our service in Hubei province subject to local authority emergency controls. 

Express services outside of Hubei province are operating normally. 

Please note: DHL Globalmail services are currently suspended across the whole of China. Service will resume when China Post operations return to normal. 

Are your operations affected in Italy?

Due to the increasing number of infected people in Italy, the government has declared the entire Italian territory as a locked area and implemented strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Logistics services however, are not affected and DHL Express services are fully operational in all Italian territories.

DHL Express Italy is operating under strict guidance from the Italian Ministry of Health to ensure that our employees and customers are protected.