Trick or treat?
Lamont upbeat, local officials divided, health experts cite risks about allowing Halloween during pandemic
A pandemic won’t stop the Ganino family from handing out candy on Halloween.
Mike Ganino said he and his family plan to take precautions, but want the holiday to move forward, despite continuing concerns about COVID-19.
“My family looks forward to lighting up our front porch and handing out candy on Oct. 31,” the Monroe dad said. “We’ll wear a mask at the front door and will consider filling up Ziploc bags to limit little hands in bowls. Our children won’t be young forever and we owe it to them to make this happen in a safe way.”
Trick-or-treating is an annual Halloween tradition, a time when children run through the streets in costumes collecting candy from friends and neighbors. It’s also a potential public health nightmare during a pandemic, some health experts said.
“My thought on trick-or-treating this year is that there are certainly risks,” said Dr. Jeannie Kenkare, chief medical officer of PhysicianOne Urgent Care, which has 16 Connecticut locations, including Brookfield, Newtown, Ridgefield and Southbury. “There is the risk of the person giv
ing out candy having COVID and it’s getting on the candy.”
The traditional method of trickor-treating doesn’t allow for social distancing, said Dr. Magna Dias, chairwoman of pediatrics at Bridgeport Hospital.
“Traditionally, people come to the home and you hand them the bowl of candy and that’s less than
6 feet (of distance between you),” she said. “So I just don’t think the traditional way is going to work this year.”
The fate of trick-or-treating in
2020 remains uncertain, but Gov. Ned Lamont is optimistic about allowing Halloween to happen this year.
“I was talking to (state Department of Social Services Commissioner) Deidre Gifford and I told her, ‘Halloween is outside and people are wearing masks, so it sounds like it ought to be doable,’” Lamont said Wednesday. “And I think we’ll get some guidance soon.”
On Thursday, Lamont reiterated he was optimistic about the holiday because trick-or-treaters often wear masks and gloves as part of a costume. The governor did not elaborate on what restrictions might apply for people handing out candy, or how the rules would be enforced.
But Kenkare said trick-ortreating isn’t a personal risk she’d be willing to take this year.
“I would not have my children go door-to-door this season,” she said. “There are a few things that can be done to do it safely, but it’s still a risky proposition.”
So far, Connecticut’s municipalities are somewhat mixed on the Halloween question and many leaders are not yet ready to commit to a decision.
That includes Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti, who said he plans to wait until October to see where the COVID-19 infection rates stand.
Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said she is waiting for guidance from the governor before making a decision. And in New Canaan, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said no decision has been made, but Halloween was on the “front burner.”
Some officials are in favor of moving forward with trick-ortreating, including Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. The city has not proposed an ordinance to limit or ban trick-or-treating.
“I learned a long time ago in my job never, ever mess with Halloween,” Boughton said.
Boughton said he plans to meet with the city’s police chief and acting health director to discuss how to handle Halloween.
Boughton expects the city will discourage indoor parties.
“I don’t think we are going to be able to stop people from trickor-treating,” he said. “If you don’t let people get outside and do trick-or-treating, you’re going to drive them indoors and (they) will get infections.”
New Milford Mayor Pete Bass said his town is “looking at opportunities for Halloween” and hopes to have a decision in the coming weeks.
Mask-wearing is one way to make trick-or-treating safer, Kenkare said — just make sure it’s the kind that cover the nose and mouth and not a traditional Halloween mask.
“You can make it fun,” she said. “Get a fun mask to go with the costume or match with the costume.” Other tips for making Halloween safer include quarantining collected candy for at least three days, Kenkare said.
“No one touches the candy,” she said. “After three days, inspect it like you normally would, and then it can be eaten.”
But, she said, maybe the safest thing is to find a way to celebrate Halloween without trick-or-treating.
Dias agreed. She said, even if traditional trick-or-treating isn’t possible, there are still ways to enjoy Halloween, such as organizing a backyard scavenger hunt for candy, or setting up a neighborhood pumpkin-carving contest, where neighbors could vote virtually on who has the spookiest gourd.
“You can have fun and still be safe,” she said. “It just takes a little more creativity than it did before.”
At least one town has started scaling back some Halloween plans, while keeping others.
While Wilton hasn’t yet broached prohibiting door-todoor trick-or-treating, First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice said the downtown Halloween Walk, which is one of the more popular ways of trick-or-treating in town, will not happen this year because of the sizable crowd it draws.
She also called the number of trunk-or-treat events that usually occur in Wilton “problematic” during the pandemic.
But another Halloween event — the Scarecrow Festival, in which decorated scarecrows are hung on lampposts in town — is moving forward.
“Some aspects of Halloween will be different, but with thought and creativity, it can still be fun,” Vanderslice said.
Meanwhile, some families are still planning to go the traditional route, including Fairfield’s Ashley Popoli.
“My daughter is 19 months and I think that Halloween is such a fun time for children,” Popoli said. “With everything going on, and keeping in mind that this is an outdoor activity where it’s easy to social distance, I am definitely still planning to take my daughter out whether or not people hand out candy. We will walk the neighborhood, dress up and at least say, ‘Hi’ to people. To be honest, my neighborhood is so family friendly, I bet people will still be handing out candy, as will I.”