Express delivery deserves kudos for hastening return to normalcy

Li Jie, a deliveryman with ZTO Express who has been working in Beijing during the novel coronavirus outbreak, was invited to talk about his experience at the State Council Information Office's epidemic prevention and control media briefing on Monday.

Delivery personnel across the country have won nationwide acclaim for playing a key role in stopping the spread of the epidemic. Countless delivery personnel have continued to work during the novel coronavirus outbreak, protecting people from the risk of infection and safeguarding society. Since the start of the epidemic, they have been working around the clock, often putting their own lives at risk to deliver goods to those who are quarantined or supply epidemic prevention and control items to those on the front line.

Their efforts have reduced population mobility and by extension, the spread of the virus, helping to contain the epidemic.

Behind the delivery personnel's good job is the rapid development of China's express delivery industry. During the outbreak, China Post, JD.com and SF Express employees braved great difficulties and obstacles to keep operations running, thus creating a valuable green channel for the fight against the virus.

According to the State Post Bureau, till March 8, the express delivery industry had delivered 173 million packages containing epidemic prevention and control materials. The express delivery industry restarted operations on Feb 7 and more than 3 million workers, or 92.5 percent of the total, had returned to work by Monday.

More than 160 million postal and express packages are being delivered each day. The express delivery industry is expected to soon recover its full capacity, except in Hubei province.

A stable and swift logistics channel is essential, especially for controlling an epidemic. Our entire society is grateful to the delivery personnel for their hard work during the epidemic.