Brigette Honaker  |  October 26, 2020

Category: Covid-19

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Two young girls carve light a jack-o-lantern, with candles in the background - safety tips on halloween

With Oct. 31 just around the corner, Americans may be wondering about the best way to use COVID-19 safety tips on Halloween.

On a typical Halloween night, children would come out in droves to trick or treat around their neighborhood. Older celebrants may go to costume parties or to bars and other locations to participate in festivities. However, with COVID-19 still threatening the safety of Americans, this year’s Halloween celebrations will likely need to change.

Consider implementing some safety tips on Halloween, including those found below, to keep yourself, your family and others safe.

General Halloween Safety Tips

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has several general safety tips on Halloween to protect Americans during the pandemic and beyond.

In addition to practicing safe hygiene, wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing, the FDA encourages people to do the following:

  • Wear costumes with a “flame resistant” label or use flame-resistant fabrics such as polyester or nylon if making costumes at home.
  • Wear costumes with bright colors or reflective strips to improve visibility.
  • Make sure costumes aren’t too long and a tripping hazard.
  • Test costume makeup in advance on an arm or neck. Watch for any signs of an allergy or reaction, including rashes, redness, swelling or other forms of irritation.
  • Don’t wear colored contact lenses unless you’ve been seen by an eye-care professional for fitting and instructions.
  • Don’t eat candy until its been inspected at home. Check for signs of tampering or, in the case of allergies, label indication that the candy contains an allergen.

COVID-19 Halloween Safety Recommendations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides more coronavirus-centered recommendations.

Overall, the CDC recommends that Halloween celebrators avoid traditional “high risk” activities and opt for moderate or, even better, low-risk activities instead.

A vehicle is set up for trunk-or-treating, with snow on the ground - safety tips on halloweenHigh-risk Halloween activities include more traditional celebrations, such as door-to-door trick-or-treating, “trunk or treat” events where treats are handed from the trunks of cars, crowded costume parties, indoor haunted houses, hayrides and traveling to other communities, such as visiting a rural fall festival.

Moderate-risk activities are safer than high-risk activities but not as safe as low-risk activities. Some moderate-risk celebrations include one-way trick-or-treating with social distancing; a socially distanced, small-group costume parade; outdoor costume parties with masks and social distancing; open-air, one-way haunted houses; visiting apple orchards or pumpkin patches with hand hygiene and social distancing; or an at-home Halloween movie night hosted outdoors.

Low-risk activities are recommended by the CDC over moderate- or high-risk activities. Some low-risk activities include carving pumpkins with the family, decorating the house, doing an at-home Halloween scavenger hunt for children, admiring Halloween decorations at a distance, participating in a virtual Halloween costume contest or having a Halloween movie night with family members.

With any of these activities, regardless of risk, the CDC notes that some added factors can increase risk.

For example, the use of alcohol or drugs can cloud a person’s judgment and make them more likely to participate in high-risk activities.

Similarly, an event such as a haunted house, which involves screaming, could increase the risk of spreading COVID-19. To counteract this, the CDC recommends greater social distancing.

In situations where a mask is used to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread, the CDC notes that a costume mask is not sufficient unless it is made of two of more layers of fabric. The agency instead recommends using protective cloth masks. However, a costume mask should not be used over a protective mask because it may be hard to breathe. A Halloween-themed mask could be used to match costumes.

State-Issued Safety Tips on Halloween

Most states recommend following CDC guidelines to stay safe on Halloween, including maintaining social distancing and other COVID-19 measures that may already be in place under state regulations.

Some states have issued additional guidance to their residents for how to use safety tips on Halloween. Certain states, such as Alaska, Connecticut and Iowa, have encouraged virtual celebrations over in-person activities, Today reported.

In other states, no guidance has been released — leaving cities and local authorities to issue their own guidelines.

For example, Los Angeles previously announced a ban on trick-or-treating in the city. However, this ban has since been retracted, according to NBC Los Angeles, with trick-or-treating and trunk-to-trunk trick-or-treating being labeled as “not recommended” instead of “not permitted.”

Additionally, Los Angeles health officials note that certain events and parties will not be permitted under pre-existing COVID-19 orders.

How will you be celebrating Halloween this year? Let us know in the comment section below.

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3 thoughts onCelebrate Halloween Safely During COVID-19 with These Tips

  1. Tina Lynn Baleria says:

    Please add me

  2. Aida says:

    Please Add Me

    1. Lynette Edwards says:

      Add me to the class action please

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