Children warned against shouting `trick or treat'

Projecting droplets the new fright

OTTAWA • Children in Gatineau, Que., can go out on Halloween but must not shout “trick or treat” or eat any of their candy for 24 hours, police say.

While families in Ontario hot zones including Ottawa have been warned against trick-or-treating, the Quebec government has concluded that “children are allowed to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, regardless of the alert level in the region concerned.”

No so for grown-up ghouls’ gatherings.

“Reminder: Halloween parties are prohibited,” Gatineau police said.

“In a red zone, which is the case for Gatineau, all indoor and outdoor gatherings, including Halloween parties, are prohibited.

“Private gatherings will not be tolerated.”

For youngsters, “children must stay in their neighbourhood, close to home, and walk with members of their own household only” and “must not sing or shout at people giving out treats to avoid projecting droplets.”

Anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 or required to self-isolate is warned to stay home and everyone is to keep a twometre distance between people from different households and wear a mask when physical distancing isn’t possible.

People giving out treats are advised to put them in individual bags and let kids help themselves so they can stay a safe distance away.

Police recommend that parents prepare bags of treats for their kids to eat on Halloween, that people wash their hands before and after eating and upon returning home and that “all treats should be quarantined for at least 24 hours.”

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, has suggested hockey sticks as a tool to hand out Halloween treats, while others are resorting to candy chutes or self-serve stations.

Quebec reported 963 new cases of COVID-19 and 19 more deaths on Tuesday.

Children in Ottawa, across the river from Gatineau, won’t be going trick or treating. The province’s medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, has recommended against the door-to-door tradition in areas where the infection rates are high: Ottawa, Toronto, Peel and York Region.

The province reported 827 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, and four new deaths due to the virus.

GRAHAM HUGHES / THE CANADIAN PRESS Quebec has opted to allow trick-or-treating “regardless of the alert level,” the government says.