WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today pressed U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to provide answers to Virginians about how his agency plans to distribute COVID-19 testing kits in a timely fashion — particularly in the face of ongoing mail and delivery service delays.
Last month, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) began distributing free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests to residential addresses across the country. However, Spanberger has heard in recent months from thousands of constituents about delayed deliveries, reduced Post Office hours, and other challenges in Virginia — meaning the efficiency of these test deliveries could be hampered by systemic problems and questionable management decisions.
In a letter sent to Postmaster General DeJoy, Spanberger outlined how USPS delays have negatively impacted Virginia families, businesses, and seniors. Additionally, she pushed for answers about how the USPS intends to address staffing issues in Virginia, communicate with customers about potentially delayed test deliveries, and improve coordination across the administration on this priority.
“Though mail delivery has generally improved over the past year and a half, Central Virginians continue to contact my office for assistance locating their missing mail,” said Spanberger. “I understand that the Omicron variant has contributed to worker shortages across the country – including at the USPS. I am grateful for the dedicated Postal employees, many of whom are working late hours and covering additional routes to serve their communities and uphold USPS’ mission of providing universal service.”
Spanberger continued, “While I support the USPS in partnering with the Administration to deliver rapid COVID-19 tests for households across the country, I am concerned about the impact on mail delivery for my constituents. I am especially concerned about the delivery of COVID-19 tests for those households currently experiencing mail delivery issues.”
Click here to read Spanberger’s letter to Postmaster DeJoy
Ms. Spanberger, the problems you have in Virginia don’t stop there! We have the same issues in Maryland. Being a retired rural carrier, I did not have any intention of doing business through the internet. With the poor service and delays from the Post Office, I now do everything on line I possibly can. Face it….the younger generation has been doing everything on line all their life. Where does this leave the Post Office in the future??
The Postal Service gives priority to Amazon. We push aside Covid test kit parcels in order to clear Amazon first. Most days the Covid test kits are delayed for another day.
This is occurring all over the Country, not just Virginia.
I haven’t seen the first one in Mississippi