State advises on safe Halloween

Many holidays have fallen victim to the coronavirus this year, but the next one on the calendar might actually pan out.

With Halloween less than a month and a half away, communities are planning how the annual tradition of trickor-treating will take place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ohio Department of Health released Halloween guidelines for COVID-19

on Friday that recommend that all hay rides and haunted houses be canceled this fall and that trick-or-treating proceed with caution.

The two-page list of recommendations suggests that Ohioans find alternatives to traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating if possible.

One option could be “drive-through” trick-or-treating so that people can avoid contact with each other. Another option is hiding candy around the home, according to the state health department documents.

People who still go door-to-door on Oct. 31 should consider limiting the number of homes they visit. People passing out candy should avoid placing it in a communal bowl for kids to reach into, according to the state.

Any holiday gatherings must be limited to 10 people in accordance with state health orders. Activities such as bobbing for apples should be avoided to prevent the spread of germs, the guidelines state.

Friday’s guidance comes a day after Gov. Mike Dewine cautioned people about going to haunted houses, corn mazes and other fall-themed establishments. But the state plans to leave most decisions regarding “Beggars Night” to local communities, the governor said.

“They will do that, I’m sure, in consultation with their local health departments,” Dewine said. “Parents in turn will do what parents do, and that is make a decision about whether their child goes out trick-or-treating.”

Although concerns remain about close contact between kids and people passing out candy, Dewine joked that Halloween might prove to be the perfect pandemic holiday because most activities take place outside and trickor-treaters wear costume masks.

Bevan Schneck, spokesperson for the Mid-ohio Regional Planning Commission, said, “If you’re going to have a holiday like Halloween, it’s kind of the most ideal holiday for COVID-19 because you don’t have large crowds, you’re outdoors, and a lot of people already have masks on.”

Traditionally, MORPC recommends the date that communities host trick-ortreat, but it’s up to each city or village to pick a time and day. Despite COVID-19, most communities plan to have a night of trick-or-treating, Schneck said.

“I don’t think it will look much different than usual, with the expectation of people making more of an effort to socially distance as they walk through their own neighborhood, and maybe some more creative ways of distributing candy,” Schneck said.

An additional 1,011 Ohioans tested positive for the virus as of Friday, according to the Department of Health.

Friday’s caseload was less than the three-week average of 1,070 new cases reported per day. Ohio has had 142,596 people test positive for COVID-19, according to the state.

More than 2.74 million virus tests have been administered in the state since the pandemic reached Ohio in March.

The average positive test rate for Ohioans over the previous seven days remained at 3.4% Wednesday, the most recent day for which data is available, according to the state health department. The seven-day average positive rate was 3.7% on Sunday.

The state’s death toll rose by 28 on Friday; that exceeded the three-week average of 24 new deaths reported per day. The virus has killed 4,608 Ohioans, according to the state.

An additional 62 Ohioans were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday. That’s below a three-week average of 70 new hospitalizations a day, state data shows.

Admissions to intensive care units rose by 12 on Friday, which is more than the three-week average of 10 new ICU admissions a day.

As of Friday, 634 Ohioans remained hospitalized with COVID-19, including 223 in ICUS and 118 on ventilators.

Franklin County has reported the most virus cases, 25,658, and the second-most deaths, 603. Cuyahoga County has recorded the most deaths, 643, and the second-most cases, 16,981 as of Friday, according to the state. mfilby@dispatch.com @Maxfilby mhenry@dispatch.com @Megankhenry