Travel restrictions to and from China are likely to see your post delayed, the South African Post Office (SAPO) has said.

Airmail between South Africa and China has been suspended because parts of the Asian country are in lockdown due to increased Covid-19 cases. This has resulted in travel restrictions and a lack of air connections to China, the SAPO said.

In April, China reported 13 000 new Covid-19 cases in one day - the most since the peak of the first pandemic wave more than two years ago. The infections were predominately found in the area around Shanghai.

Health officials suspect the latest wave of Covid-19 infections is being driven by a new sub-type of the Omicron variant.

However, surface mail to China remains available, according to the SAPO.

International postal services have been significantly affected by travel restrictions due to the pandemics. Airmail service to the United States and Australia was reintroduced in January after two years of disruptions, when air freight connections to these countries became available.

In 2021, the SAPO offered a once-off opportunity to send mail to Australia and received more than 1.4 tons of mail for the flight.

The Post Office has added two new destinations to its airmail delivery list - Malta and Luxembourg.

This brings the number of countries with airmail service to 34. Surface mail is sent to 51 countries.

Customers who send items to other countries are not allowed to send items such as arms, ammunition, explosives, liquids, or items that could break and leak. No plant or animal material may be sent to other countries.