Celebrating Halloween During COVID-19
As one of the most popular, chilling holiday nights draws near this year, the CDC offers a list of safety tips for people to follow to have some healthy Halloween fun.
Safe Trick-Or-Treating Tactics
Halloween night is not an excuse to toss out safety for fun. Both safety and fun can be had together! All of the regular COVID-19 guidelines that have been put into space should still be physically adhered to.
1. Practice Social Distancing
When trick-or-treating with a group of friends or visiting family members, it is important to stay at least 6 feet away from people you are not living with, according to CDC guidelines. Stay with your specific group and try not to merge in too closely with various neighbors, children, or other guests who may be present. It is best to pass out candy from a responsible distance in an outdoor area as opposed to inside.
2. Avoid Physical Contact with Neighbors or Other Trick-or-Treaters
Many kids are usually eager to trade candy or run up to neighborhood houses and grab candy pieces from friendly neighbors. One of the best safety measures is to decrease physical contact as much as possible this year. Do not encourage holding hands or shaking hands with others around you and your child(ren). When passing out candy, it’s best to create a contactless candy solution where children can grab premade baggies on their own.
3. Always Wash Your Hands
You may be surprised by all the objects you come into contact with on Halloween night. Knocking on doors, ringing doorbells, holding onto stair railings, or simply rummaging through baskets of candy are all ways for one to come into contact with potentially affected surfaces. This is why the CDC urges everyone to continuously wash your hands when trick-or-treating. Carrying around hand sanitizer (that is 60% alcohol) is a good option too. Remember to wash hands before passing out candy.
4. Wear A Proper Mask
Many costumes come with masks included nowadays. However, the CDC discourages the use of costume masks and expresses the need for wearing sturdy cloth masks. It is also not recommended for anyone to wear double masks since this can lead to a breathing hazard.
Halloween doesn’t have to be scary in terms of COVID-19 if you practice safe, practical guidelines. Spooky fun can always be held inside with your family during the holiday night if you are weary about going out. Inside door decorating contests, horror movie marathons, candy hunts, and costume contests are all safe, fun activities that can be done with the people you come into contact with everyday at home!
