Halloween is happening, just not in the way celebrants may think — or want.
With Halloween sales looking frightful, according to Market Watch, a stock market data website, consumer research from the National Confectioners Association found that 80% of people say they will find creative and safe ways to celebrate the Halloween season this year.
The Arkansas Department of Health released guidelines this week to ensure Halloween safety as well as spark creative celebrations during the pandemic. Dividing Halloween activities into three risk activities, the health department recommends the following:
Lower risk activities
These lower-risk activities can be safe alternatives. Keep socially distant and wear a cloth mask, not a Halloween mask alone.
Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them.
Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends.
Decorating your house, apartment, or living space.
Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed items to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance.
Having a virtual Halloween costume contest.
Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home.
Moderate risk activities
Participating in one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard). If you are preparing goodie bags, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after preparing the bags.
Having a small group (no more than 10 people) to an outdoor, open-air costume party or parade where people are distanced more than 6 feet apart.
Having a trunk-or-treat event where masks are worn and social distancing can be assured (i.e. in a large parking lot where treats can be funneled through a PVC pipe or placed in treat bags for participants to pick up instead of handed out directly).
Going to an open-air, one-way, walk-through haunted forest where appropriate mask use is enforced, and people can remain more than 6 feet apart. If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised. The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus. Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing.
Higher risk activities
Avoid these higher-risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes covid-19:
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 lined up in large parking lots where social distancing between participants can’t be ensured.
Attending crowded costume parties held indoors or large outdoor gatherings.
Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming.
Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household.
Jefferson County residents plan to keep it safe this year while still providing a way for their families to enjoy Halloween. Raven Walker said she will have home-based activities for her kids. “We are going to have a small Halloween party,” said Walker. “The party will be at my home with my family.”
Kimberley Brimmer will also be playing it safe, but that has been her practice through the covid-19 period because of the health of her daughter.
“My daughter has sickle cell so we will be at home,” said Brimmer. “We will be having a family party for her and her brother at home.”
White Hall Mayor Noel Foster said, though the city really doesn’t have any control over Halloween, it is important for parents to recognize that there is a pandemic.
“It’s kind of like going to school,” said Foster. “We as a community want the kids to have normal activities, and Halloween is one, but must respect that this virus is very contagious and must follow the guidelines.”
Changes will have to take place this year in order to prevent the spread of covid-19, and Foster encourages the White Hall community to make those changes happen and prioritize safety and public health.
“We all want something to be fun and normal for the kids because they need that,” said Foster. “I recommend families follow the guidelines set by the Department of Health regarding Halloween.”
According to the health department, if you have covid-19, think you might have it, or may have been exposed to someone with covid-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters.
When it comes to masks, health experts recommend they not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric. Costume masks will not substitute for a cloth mask and they cannot be worn over a protective cloth mask.
ADH recommends parents limit the number of houses children visit and only let children eat factory-wrapped candy that has been wiped off with a sanitary wipe.
Dr. Stephen Ostroff, who works with the National Confectioners Association, served as the FDA’s deputy commissioner and chief scientist and also as the deputy director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He said with the appropriate guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health departments across the country, people can prioritize safety and public health while at the same time allowing American families to celebrate Halloween.
“Although there is no evidence that covid-19 is transmitted by food or food packaging, personal hygiene is still important during Halloween,” said Ostroff in his Halloween safety considerations for state and city health departments. “Bring hand sanitizer if attending an outdoor event or going trick-or-treating. Use it frequently to keep your child’s hands clean, including before opening a package.”
