How to Halloween safely: Trick-or-treat guidelines from CDC and local leaders
This year has been challenging for people of all ages trying to navigate the coronavirus pandemic, but children have dealt with the ins and outs of virtual school, felt grief with canceled playdates and spent countless hours indoors.
Now comes the next hurdle: How do parents and kids deal with Halloween?
The good news is trick-ortreating isn’t canceled across the board. What families should consider is how to make the haunted holiday safer for their own children and neighborhood trick-or treaters.
Orlando pediatrician Dr. Candice Jones has advised families on healthy habits throughout the pandemic and has recently fielded questions about Halloween.
“I’ve been telling them to not do the traditional trick-or-treating this year. Inmy opinion, that’ snot the best move to take because you have kids congregating at doors and trying to get treats,” she said. “There are just so many risks there where COVID-19 can be spread. Wewant families to cut down on some of those risks.”
What’s safe, what’s not
Jones said that about half of her patients will partake in trick-or-treating and half planned to look for safer options. Her family plans on staying close to home and exploring alternatives.
“We came up with baking Halloween treats, watching a kid-friendly scary movie and we’re going to surprise [the kids] with a Halloween or trick-or-treat scavenger hunt,” she said. “My husband and I are going to put treats all over the house and let them race to find them.”
The pediatrician advised that healthychildren.org, a resource from the American Academy of Pediatrics, can help families find more Halloween guidelines and fun ideas for alternate plans.
Jones suggested a virtual costume party with friends and family as another safe alternative to traditional celebrations. Her family plans on putting a table at the end of their driveway with individual bags of candy for trick-or-treaters.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that “lower risk” activities include carving pumpkins outside while distanced from neighbors and friends, admiring neighborhood decorations froma distance and having a movie night in the house.
Moderate risk activities are having an open-air costume parade with social distancing; attending an open-air, one-way haunted forest; visiting pumpkin patches with appropriate sanitization; and having a Halloween movie night with people spaced at least 6 feet apart.
Among higher risk activities: participating in traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating, attending costume parties indoors, going to indoor haunted houses, using drugs or alcohol and traveling to a rural fall festival when coming from an area with community spread of COVID-19.
Similar CDC guidelines apply to Día de los Muertos, and lower-risk activities include virtual get-togethers, staying home to play music that deceased loved ones enjoyed, decorating masks or making anal tar for the deceased.
Jones said it’s especially important for parents of adolescents and young adults to address safety as they think about heading out for Halloween and Day of the Dead.
“I really worry about our adolescents and young adult populations because they’ve been the ones that have been a little bit more risky anyway,” she said. “So we just need to send that message for everybody to be safe.”
Trick-or-treating tips
For those who intend to trick-or-treat, the CDC and local leaders have issued guidance for how to stay safe this Halloween.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is leaving it up to parents whether to take their children trick orbut mentioned alternate activities.
“My suggestion is that [parents] look to participate in some of the special events hosted by community groups or our themeparks,” hesaid at apress conference. “Look for the virtual opportunities to engage children with some creative things that are going on.”
Dr. Raul Pino, Florida’s top health officer in Orange County, said he thinks traditional trick-or-treating can be done with the right precautions.
“As long as people keep their distance, as long as the kids are not allowed to go wild, running around, I think it can be done safely,” he said. “It should be done in family groups ... If there’s going to be mixing of kids, everyone should be wearing a mask, and not just a Halloween mask, though [a facial covering] can go well with a costume.”
Pino also encouraged people to avoid large gathering sand parties, a sentiment echoed by Demings.
The CDC has a list of recommendations for minimizing the risk of COVID19 while trick-or-treating, including wearing a cloth mask, keeping 6 feet away from others and sanitizing hands. Those handing out treats should avoid direct contact with visitors, set up a station with individually bagged treats, wear a mask and wash hands before handling treats.