Pittsburgh sent home its environmental services workers with pay Wednesday morning after they voiced concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, but they will resume normal trash pickup on Thursday, officials said.

Residents scheduled for garbage pickup on Wednesday should leave their bags at curbside for collection on Thursday, according to the Mayor’s Office. Starting Monday, the city will suspend pickup of bulk and yard waste.

Union officials said employees arriving for work Wednesday at the Department of Environmental Services facility in Pittsburgh’s Strip District panicked after learning that a co-worker’s wife had potentially tested positive for covid-19. They found doors locked to a building housing their locker rooms and break area.

Dozens of workers milled about the facility and demanded protective gear and hazardous duty pay.

“Guys were thinking they’re locked out,” said Paul Kapetanovich, recording secretary for Teamsters Union Local 249. “Then the word got out about the worker’s wife being infected. Then that spread. Then guys wanted to be tested and that wasn’t possible. That’s when we got involved to try and alleviate the situation.”

The wife had a “presumptive positive test” and is in quarantine along with her husband, according to Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto. He said neither have so far exhibited symptoms of covid-19.

Kapetanovich said reports that the employees refused to go to work are not true. They were concerned about potential contact with an infected person, the building being locked and handling garbage during the pandemic, he said. The union represents about 140 environmental services workers.

A conference call with Pittsburgh officials, including Medical Director Dr. Ronald Roth and Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich, helped alleviate their fears. They will be back to work on Thursday, Kapetanovich said.

“We were able to calm them down and (the city) decided to send them home with pay,” he said. “They’ll come back tomorrow and be on their normal routes for Thursday and then go back and get what’s out there today.”

McNulty said it’s unlikely that the city would agree to hazard pay.

“There are only two ways the city could pay workers more: by raising taxes in a time of record unemployment and financial insecurity, or by laying off other city personnel to pay them,” he said. “Neither move would be acceptable at this time.”

He reported the city is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for trash handlers. The guidelines include regular cleaning of buildings and trucks.

Workers are provided with protective glasses and gloves that they are not permitted to take home. They are given sanitary wipes to clean equipment. They’re also provided with disposable plastic gloves to wear under their gloves and encouraged to wash uniforms daily, McNulty said.

The city also is staggering start times to limit interaction.

Peduto said sanitation workers are given a daily checklist that identifies symptoms of covid-19. He said no city employees have yet tested positive for the disease.

Workers were asking for masks, Peduto said, but were informed they can cause more harm than good.

“Dr. Roth explained that by giving them masks and bringing their gloves to their face, they could potentially cause more harm,” he said.

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