Parcels overflow Tuesday from a package delivery sorting center in Taiyuan, North China’s Shanxi province. As Covid cases surge around China, express companies are struggling to make timely deliveries during this winter’s peak season. Photo: VCG

A worker wheels parcels at the sorting center. Photo: VCG

Couriers organize parcels into piles Tuesday at an express delivery station in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. Photo: Hou Yu/China News Service, VCG

A medical worker waits to pick up a package outside a hospital in Beijing’s Dongcheng district Monday. Photo: VCG

A courier drives a load of packages around Beijing on Friday night. Logistics companies have been bringing in workers from across China since last week to help with last-mile delivery in the capital. Photo: VCG

A courier prepares to make deliveries Saturday in Beijing’s Dongcheng district. Authorities in several districts have encouraged residents to take delivery jobs to help get packages delivered faster. Photo: VCG

Heaps of packages sit at an express sorting station Monday in Beijing’s Xicheng district. Photo: VCG

A worker sorts packages on Dec. 14 at an SF Express service center in Yinchuan, Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Photo: Yu Jing/China News Service, VCG