(Yicai Global) Dec. 19 -- More than 1,000 express delivery couriers have arrived in Beijing since last week to offer their helping hand amid workforce shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The drivers have rushed to the capital city from several regions such as Tianjin and Shanghai, as well as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Heilongjiang provinces to ensure parcel distribution, per Chinese news reports.

Express delivery companies have started delivering parcels at night to ensure people get enough medical supplies and protective equipment such as face masks as the number of new cases surged after China eased its epidemic prevention policy early this month. In the past two days, several districts in Beijing have kicked off campaigns to recruit more takeout staff among residents.

On-demand service giant Meituan is actively recruiting new workers. In the two days ended Dec. 16, the number of new rider registrations more than tripled from the same period last week. This has helped the Beijing-based company to recover more than 80 percent of its normal capacity while some local riders are sick.

Meituan expects to see peak demand for online orders as New Year's Day and the 2023 Spring Festival approach so it will be hiring more delivery staff, the firm said.

Cen Chao, head of express station operations in Chengdu who recently traveled to Beijing to work, said to Yicai Global that on Saturday he delivered more than 50 packages while the temperature fell below minus 10 degrees Celsius.

Cen currently works in Changping district in shifts of more than 12 hours and clients may be up to 10 kilometers apart so during the past two days, he delivered just half of what he used to. The Baifu express station, where Cen works, has a daily volume of 2,000 to 3,000 orders, and pharmaceuticals are prioritized.

Another station called Wanboyuan has received 10 new couriers from Langfang, Hebei province, so the total has reached 19, an increase of 30 percent from the normal headcount amid rising delivery volumes.

Alibaba Group Holding's delivery arm Cainiao said to Yicai Global today that workers from 19 provinces and cities across the country have arrived in Beijing while the company's parcel volume in the city has surged nearly 60 percent from Dec. 13.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi