SASKATOON -- While health care professionals don masks and gloves to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems people who are wearing gloves in public in an effort to protect themselves from the virus are disposing of them the wrong way.

Pictures of discarded gloves on streets and in parking lots of businesses along Eighth Street surfaced on Tuesday.

“Just dispose of them in the regular garbage,” said city manager Jeff Jorgenson. “If you’re downtown and you’re using a glove to get into your car or something, get rid of that glove, use the garbage bag in your car, use the garbage receptacle on the street.”

Canada Post is aware of gloves being left in close proximity to mail boxes, which can potentially lead to a suspension of mail service.

“In some cases we’ll suspend service until it can be rectified,” said Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton. “Sometimes that has to do with if a walkway is unsafe, or stairs.”

“Certainly if somebody is discarding gloves beside a mailbox, beyond the safety impact and the concern of our employees, that’s just a really dumb thing to do, especially now.”