**Update 6th September 2021

We have some wonderful news to share! Our teams are back in the office today and operating at full capacity whilst looking after our safety and wellbeing. Your plushies are currently being packed and will be shipped out as soon as this week! You will receive prompt shipping updates via email as soon as the logistics team pick up your parcel.

**Update 3rd September 2021

Our teams are finally able to leave their homes today and will be heading back into the office this week to prepare your plushies and cushions for shipment. Thank you ever so much for your patience, we really appreciate it!


**Update 2nd September 2021

The Government are now preparing for the lockdown to ease as roadblocks are being removed and the cases have remained zero. Fortunately, no one has died from this outbreak, which was largely focused in the cities of Nanjing and Yangzhou in the province of Jiangsu, near the financial hub of Shanghai which is where our teams are located.

Once again we are thankful and appreciative for those who have purchased a plushie from us and are waiting patiently during this unexpected outbreak and lockdown. The end of the tunnel is near and we can only hope that our team can begin to prepare and ship your parcels again. We cannot wait for you to receive your items from Kawaiies! 

**Update 23rd August 2021

We have some wonderful news to share, the number of COVID cases have now dropped to zero cases but there are still no dates planned on when city will open up. Hopefully, the lockdown will ease by the end of this week so our team can prepare your plushies for shipment.

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It has been announced that China will be entering a "soft" lockdown in many provinces due to the Delta COVID-19 variant from 28th July 2021. As a result, many of our team members are to remain at home whilst the Government tackles this Delta vairant outbreak.

"China has shut down a city of 9.3 million people over 17 COVID-19 infections, while a proposed second phase of a World Health Organization (WHO) investigation into the origins of the virus has been rebuffed."

Unfortunately, this lockdown will have a significant effect on the preparation of parcels and shipping times for many of our orders as our teams are unable to prepare your items for shipment from home.

In this blog we will further explain how a lockdown in China and even other countries may affect shipping times for our orders and potentially purchases you have made with other online stores.


How a lockdown can lead to a domino effect of problems

The reality of a lockdown is that our teams will not be able to process many orders while they are self-isolating in their homes. Even if our team members were able to prepare and ship your items out, the logistics companies may not be operating at full capacity as other provinces may be in lockdown.

These disruptions will cause significant setbacks as the number of unprocessed orders and unshipped parcels build up across the country. As people continue to order online and the back log of orders continue to rise, you can only imagine the amount of work building up for everyone stuck at home not being able to continue with their job. We only hope that the lockdown isn't as serious as the previous ones and that the government reconsider their decisions with staff not being able to go to work.

This backlog will have a compounding effect on shipping companies as they will need to try deliver all the parcels that were not processed during this lockdown with a limited number of planes and ships available. This will have a knock-on effect with rising shipping costs, which we have already been experiencing over the past year.

Besides some provinces in China going into lockdown, there are also other countries and cities across the globe that have or may be going into a lockdown due to the pandemic. This further extends shipping times as postal staff are not able to process parcels at your local international customs as well as at your local courier.


How long will the August 2021 lockdown last in China?

The recent outbreak has spread across dozens of provinces and over 20 cities in China with new cases appearing but no new deaths. The situation is still unclear but we hope this lockdown will help contain the virus and stop the spread of the new variant. Authorities have already launched mass testing in many different cities so it is only a matter of time before our team can continue to prepare your items for shipment.

As of 26th August 2021, 3PM GMT time we are still unsure as to how long this lockdown will go on for, however, we can only assume the lockdown will begin to ease soon as the cases are now in the single digits. Once we have more information regarding this matter we will update this blog at the top of the page.


How long should I expect my parcel to be delayed by?

Some of our staff are currently in strict lockdown to control the spread of the virus and are unable to prepare your items for shipment. We are unsure as to how long this will last so we would like to ask for your understanding and expect there to be delays with receiving your tracking ID for your parcel(s).


If you have recently made a purchase and would like an update on your order please reach out to our lovely customer service team via email at info@kawaiies.com and they will be glad to assist you.

We will continue to provide updates on shipping times and delays on this blog post. Please stay safe and continue to spread love and smiles to those around you.