USPS Suspends Service to These Countries Temporarily

[727Sky]

https://www.shippingschool.com/news/usps...mporarily/

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the closing of international borders, USPS has suspended service to the following countries (updated 1/14/2022)
In order to stop the spread of Coronavirus, many countries have closed their borders and halted any commercial flights in and out. As a result, shipping carriers are unable to deliver any mail or parcels to those destinations…including USPS. This has not only resulted in international mailing disruptions to dozens of countries, but now, also in a total suspension of service. As of January 14th, 2022, USPS has suspended service to the following list of countries, and has requested that all customers refrain from entering items addressed to any of these countries into the USPS system until further notice.
The Running List of Countries USPS Has Suspended Service To (Updated on 1/14/2022)

• Australia (Priority Mail Express International packages are still accepted)
  
• Afghanistan
  
• Bhutan
  
• Brunei
  
• Central African Republic
  
• Chad
  
• Cuba
  
• French Guiana
  
• Guadeloupe
  
• Hong Kong
  
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic
  
• Liberia
  
• Libya
  
• Martinique
  
• Mongolia
  
• New Zealand (First Class Package International and Priority Mail Express International packages are still accepted)
  
• Papua New Guinea
  
• Reunion
  
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  
• Samoa
  
• Sierra Leone
  
• Solomon Islands
  
• South Sudan
  
• Syria
  
• Timor-Leste
  
• Turkmenistan
  
• Yemen
  

**For the most up-to-date information on all the countries USPS has suspended service to, visit the USPS newsroom.
What Happens if I Already Sent a Package to One of These Countries?
If you’ve already sent a package to one of these countries, you’ll admittedly find yourself in a tough spot. If your parcel is already in transit, the destination country will likely hold it until further notice. Therefore, the best thing to do would be to contact your customer and set realistic expectations that he or she will not receive the package for quite some time. USPS will also likely not refund your postage in this case, but if you used online shipping software to buy your label, you may be eligible to contact their support staff and receive a credit.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

I rarely send out mail and almost never outside of domestic destinations, so I would have never noticed. As little as I send out, I do receive a lot of mail, much of it is important like bills or what have you.

Regardless of how little I may rely on the USPS, or that there are other services that can deliver correspondence and ship packages, I have to acknowledge that the breakdown of the postal service is a bad sign. Add to that the other numerous problems with shipping deliveries and the signs of collapse are becoming very clear IMO.

It reminds me of the movie "The Postman" with Kevin Costner and how important and culturally unifying things like the postal service are.

From Wikipedia . . . 

The Postman is a 1997 American post-apocalyptic action adventure film produced and directed by Kevin Costner, who plays the lead role. The screenplay was written by Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland, based on David Brin's 1985 book of the same name. The film also features Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, James Russo, and Tom Petty.

It is set in a post-apocalyptic and neo-Western version of the disestablished United States in the then near-future year of 2013, sixteen-plus years after unspecified apocalyptic events, led by Nathan Holn, progressing to war, followed by plagues, that collectively left a huge impact on human civilization and erased most technology. Like the book, the film follows the story of a nomadic drifter (Costner) who stumbles across the uniform of an old United States Postal Service mail carrier, and unwittingly inspires hope through an empty promise of a "Restored United States of America" and starts his path to become a national hero.

That movie, like most Costner productions, was kind of lame and was a box office bomb, but I liked it when I saw it and thought it had a good message.

[GeauxHomeLittleD]

Very surprised to see Samoa on the list. I thought Samoa was an American territory?

[F2d5thCav]

Very surprised to see Samoa on the list. I thought Samoa was an American territory?

Per Wiki, "Samoa is located 64 km west of American Samoa".  Apparently one is Unamerican. 

Cheers

[xuenchen]

Another scare tactic for The Red Herring Collection