Occoquan residents get their mail from the post office. Coronavirus hasn’t changed that

Even with the federal government encouraging social distancing, neighbors in the small town of Occoquan are still seeing a lot of each other.

In Occoquan, residents do not have their mail delivered. Instead, they go directly to the post office to retrieve it.

It’s an exception to the rule in an area where the majority of mail is delivered by hand to individual mailboxes. However, with the coronavirus outbreak, the post office has taken action to ensure the health of its staff and the public.

“I haven’t seen any problems at the post office. Everybody’s very polite here in town. One person comes in, they go to the desk, and take care of their business. The other person stays back, six feet if not more, and the rest of the people stay outside and wait,” said restaurant owner Kathy Anderson, who operates three businesses in the town — Bar J Chili Parlor, the Grind N Crepe, and The Third Base Pizza & Frozen Custard.

The U.S. Postal Service declined to be interviewed for this story.

Steps that the Occoquan Post Office has taken include monitoring their inner and outer lobbies, only allowing two people in each at a time, and encouraging people to remain six feet apart from each other. They have also distributed gloves, masks, and disinfectants to their employees and have posted instructions for residents to follow CDC guidelines, we’re told.

Meanwhile, the town council is working to continuously provide information to Occoquan residents and following the guidance of Governor Ralph Northam and the CDC.

Mayor Earnie Porta has released multiple newsletters with information regarding social distancing, the mail, businesses, and the 2020 Census. He has encouraged residents to pick up their Census form and fill it out online.

The police department has also been tasked to interact with residents and to answer any questions they have.

“We’re getting information out to folks to consistently be providing information on our websites, to let people know how we’re gonna be supporting them. To get all the key information that people need to know about where they can go to get what kind of information, whether it be Prince William Emergency Management or our department of health for Virginia. I’m trying to get that information to people consistently,” said Occoquan Town Council member and Chairman of the Planning Commission, Eliot Perkins.

More information can be found through Mayor Porta’s newsletters, the Occoquan town website.