Halloween Precautions Due to COVID

With all these new recommendations from the CDC, does this mean this is the end of the Halloween celebrations? Health departments from both St. Louis County and Douglas County say not yet. 

NORTHLAND – The CDC recently released a set of guidelines concerning Halloween calling more toned down celebrations with fewer people while having more socially-distanced forms of trick-or-treating.

With all these new recommendations from the CDC, does this mean this is the end of the Halloween celebrations?

Health departments from both St. Louis County and Douglas County say not yet.

Douglas County public health officials say costumes should include some sort of face-covering while trick-or-treating should be done in a mindful way. For instance, going to homes of grandparents, friends or neighbors, which are considered controlled environments.

“We want children to have something to look forward to and so I think that people can celebrate Halloween, celebrate the holiday in a safe way if they think about it and do some planning ahead of time,” said Kathy Ronchi, the health officer for Douglas County Public Health.

With regards to candy for trick-or-treaters, people should try to get creative and pass them out without having direct contact with kids like dropping the candy into a bag.

The St. Louis County Public Health Director says families should also not go out if they have symptoms of sickness.

“Well certainly Halloween is a tradition that everyone wants to continue but we want to encourage people to do it safely,” said Amy Westbrook, the director for the St. Louis County Public Health Division. “We certainly would encourage people to stay at home away from individuals if they are feeling ill, have respiratory illness or have recently been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.”

Some low-risk activities that health officials recommend doing are pumpkin carving, Halloween movie nights, and decorating.

The CDC also recommends that event organizers and attendees take into consideration the risk of the virus spread based on the size of the event.