Barebones Halloween as virus haunts holiday
Carve those pumpkins. Hang the spooky skeletons. But keep the kids at home this Halloween. The state’s top health official strongly discouraged Californians from participating in traditional trickortreating and other activities related to the holiday this year.
“The safest way to celebrate is at home with your household, or virtually,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, California health and human services secretary, said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
The state recommends that people avoid activities such as doortodoor trickortreating, attending indoor costume parties or gathering with large groups from different households, which may increase the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
“COVID19 continues to pose an important risk,” Ghaly said, noting that even though California’s case rates and hospitalization numbers may be on a downtrend, the surges in other parts of the country and across the world are of concern. “We’re not out of the woods.”
While Ghaly touched on Halloween activities at previous briefings, the state issued its official guidance for the first time on Tuesday. He said authorities would not enforce the rules but that residents should refer to local county websites for additional restrictions and guidance.
“The whole act of going doortodoor in groups, ringing doorbells, digging into buckets of delicious candy creates a risk of spreading COVID19,” Ghaly said. “The fact that positive cases are hard to discover and really challenging to contact trace also pose challenges that we feel like are too great.”
He urged people to follow standard coronavirus protocols no matter what they do, including wearing face coverings, practicing physical distancing and hand hygiene.
Halloween masks do not suffice as a protective face covering for slowing the spread of the coronavirus, Ghaly said.
The guidance is especially pertinent as the state on Monday issued guidance that allows for small gatherings of up to three households for two hours, as long as participants meet up outside and wear face coverings.
“It does not mean that we’re endorsing or suggesting that small gatherings should happen,” Ghaly said. “We just want to be able to provide, as we go into Halloween and other holidays, important ways to reduce your risk so we make sure you protect yourself, your families and your communities.”
Bay Area county health officers echoed the state guidance in a joint statement, asking residents to refrain from engaging in traditional Halloween and Dia de los Muertos activities.
“Bay Area contact tracing has shown that gathering and mixing are key contributors to infection,” Neetu Balram, public information manager for the Alameda County Public Health Department, said in the joint letter issued by the officers.
Some ideas suggested include staging a haunted house or candy hunt in your home, a scary movie night, decorating your home and yard, or painting and carving pumpkins, along with virtual costume and jacko’ lantern contests and car tours to see neighborhood decorations. For Dia de los Muertos, altars can be placed in a front window or outside, as well as displayed virtually to honor the dead. Cemetery visits should conform to health guidelines of distance and maskwearing, Ghaly said.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health additionally allows for outdoor activities such as pumpkin carving with neighbors, dining at a local restaurant, or holding a costume parade with no more than 12 people, all with safety in mind.
“We recommend strongly that we do Halloween differently than we have in the past,” Ghaly said.