Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 100 postal workers across the country have died from the coronavirus.
Officials from the Postal Workers Union say just last week, 18,750 postal workers were quarantined because they were diagnosed or exposed to COVID-19.
Nick Casselli, president of the local union chapter, says the Philadelphia area is no exception.
He says several positive cases are diagnosed and reported daily.
“When you get to work and your co-worker comes up positive with the coronavirus that is as dangerous as it is, and how harmful it is.
The Postal Service was already facing a backlog in November after the deluge of ballot papers before this year’s election preceded it.
As a result, countless people are still waiting for their holiday packages to arrive almost a week after Christmas.
This is twice as stressful for small businesses that rely on customer satisfaction.
Tara Lieberher, of Harleysville, Montgomery County, launched a side pillowcase and scrunchie business just five weeks ago.
“When I have to focus on getting more orders and sending them out to people. I spend all my time on the phone with the post office trying to figure out where everything is,” she said.
But Casselli says even though they are too few and overloaded, postal workers work 24 hours a day.
“We’re trying to fix this ship, but at the moment, but the perfect storm really put us behind the 8-ball,” she said.
Postal officials say they are gaining ground to deliver the backlog of parcels, but they do not expect to be caught up in a few more weeks.
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