Trick-or-treaters told to stick to rule of six

Children must follow the rule of six when trick or treating on Hallowe’en and parents who fail to comply will be fined, No 10 has warned, while it was suggested that going door-to-door would be breaking the rules in areas under local lockdown. Tighter restrictions were imposed in more parts of the North overnight, with the mixing of households banned in homes, gardens and indoor venues in Middlesbrough, Liverpool City Region, Warrington and Hartlepool.

PARENTS will be fined if children go trick or treating in groups of more than six, No 10 has said.

As Hallowe’en approaches, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman made it clear that the rule of six would not be relaxed on Oct 31.

I t was suggested t hat going door-to-door would be breaking the rules where household mixing has been banned in most of the NorthEast and Scotland, Northern Ireland and in some parts of Wales. It is believed that the person who answers the door to the trick or treater would also be included in the rule of six total.

“The rules are clear in terms of household mixing, depending on whether you’re in a lockdown area or not,” the spokesman said.

“Parents would be fined if children meet in groups of more than six children.”

The amount people will be fined if caught breaking the rule of six is £200.

No 10 issued the warning as more of the North East went into tighter lockdown overnight, with Middlesbrough, Liverpool City Region, Warrington and Hartlepool, now subject to fines if different households mixed in a private home, private garden or indoor venue.

The spokesman added: “The rules for what you need to do if you’re in local lockdown are set out online, and it’s clear we are asking households not to mix, and if you’re not in a local lockdown area then we have been clear that we are still asking everybody to abide by the rule of six.”

He said t hat p e o pl e needed to “follow the rule of six to ensure we can control and reduce the spread of the virus”.

A survey of parents carried out by Piplsay, a market research firm, found that almost half would not let their children go trick or treating to prevent them from catching coronavirus.

Zoe Mills, a retail analyst at Globaldata, said: “Reusing old costumes will be more prominent, but also fewer are expected to be dressing up at all.”

Dr Chris Smith, a virologist at the University of Cambridge, said i t was stil l possible to trick or treat safely within the coronavirus restrictions.

“Because it’s Hallowe’en, I’d say people are quite likely

‘If they can make a face covering work its way into their costume, even better’

to be wearing a mask anyway, so if they can make a face covering work its way into their costume, then even better,” he told the BBC.

However, he cautioned that how children obtained their sweets could pose a health hazard.

“There’s also the issue of how you give a treat,” he said.

“If everyone’s scrabbling round in a bucket full of sweets and they touch all of them, then there’s a risk of transmission,” he said.

In order to reduce the risk Dr Smith suggested handed trick or treaters individually wrapped sweets.