A lot of people celebrate Oct. 31 in various ways.
It is a day where people dress in costumes, attend parties and/or hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. Like any holiday, Halloween is known for big crowds coming together. It is important to examine if one should participate in Halloween festivities in the year of COVID-19.
What are the guidelines for Halloween this year?
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports on its website that many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. The CDC recommends for exposed individuals to not participate in Halloween festivities.
The CDC website lists lower risk activities, moderate risk activities and high risk activities for Halloween.
Lower risk activities include:
- Pumpkin carving and decorating with members of your household
- Socially distant pumpkin carving or decorating with neighbors or friends
- Decorating your living space
- Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where one is socially distanced from participants
- Hosting a virtual Halloween costume contest
- Hosting a movie night with people who live with you
Moderate risk activities include:
- Participating in trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go
- Attending a costume party and/or having a costume parade where one is socially distanced from others
- Going through a haunted forest
- Visiting pumpkin patches
- Having an outdoor Halloween movie night with family and/or friends
High risk activities include:
- Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
- Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars
- Attending costume parties held indoors
- Going to an indoor haunted house
- Going on hayrides and/or tractor rides
- Using alcohol or drugs, which can increase risky behaviors
- Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community
Could COVID-19 cancel Halloween?
There is a possibility that COVID-19 could cancel Halloween. As of Oct. 6, there are no official plans to cancel Halloween. If one is interested in participating in Halloween, one should watch one’s local news stations to see which festivities will take place and which ones will not. COVID-19 does not have to cancel Halloween if people are taking the proper precautions to keep each other safe.
Is it safe to trick-or-treat amid COVID-19?
The CDC advises against traditional trick-or-treating this year . This includes door-to-door trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treating. Many traditional Halloween festivities are included in the high-risk activities listed by the CDC. To keep loved ones safe, it is best that one does not participate in trick-or-treating. There are alternative methods of having fun during Halloween that can keep one safe.
How can one celebrate Halloween in the year of COVID-19?
In my opinion, the perfect Halloween night is watching a spooky movie, eating chili and sitting by the fire. There are many ways one can celebrate Halloween this year.
For example, one can have a spooky movie marathon, Halloween themed dance party, carve pumpkins and bake cookies. There are also virtual Halloween ideas. For example, a virtual Halloween party, scavenger hunt, costume contest, trick-or-treating, haunted house tour or murder mystery game.
How can one stay safe for Halloween?
It is important one stays safe while celebrating Halloween. If anyone decides to go out for Halloween, they need to wear a mask and social distance. Wearing a mask, social distancing and limiting contact with people is proven to be effective to slow the spread of COVID-19.
It is important to take the proper precautions while participating in Halloween festivities. If one is feeling sick, one should not participate in non-virtual Halloween events.
