CDC: Halloween trick-or-treating in pandemic is high-risk. What Boise-area officials say
After six months of recommending that people stay home when possible and keep their distance from others, the Centers for Disease Control and Central District Health are both advising against going to strangers’ homes and asking for candy at their doorsteps this Halloween.
New guidelines released by the CDC last week called traditional trick-or-treating a “higher-risk activity,” in the same category as crowded costume parties held indoors, haunted houses where people might be near each other while screaming and hayrides with those not in your household. On Thursday, Christine Myron, spokesperson for Central District Health, shared the district’s nearly identical recommendations.
“If you may have COVID-19 or you 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,” the CDC wrote on its website. The same language appears in CDH’s guidelines.
The Garden City Police Department announced that it would cancel its annual “trunk or treat” event — when vehicles fill a parking lot and trick-or-treaters go car to car — another of the named “higher risk” activities, because of COVID-19. Meridian also called off its trunk-or-treat event, according to the event’s website. It’s not clear what other cities will do with the guidelines, however.
Central District Health issues recommendations and restrictions for Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties. Myron first told the Statesman that officials were waiting for CDC guidance before making recommendations for local communities, and now that it’s out, trick-or-treating is advised against but not outright banned or canceled.
“For those who choose to celebrate Halloween, CDH urges people to opt for low-risk activities,” the recommendations say.
Safer options, according to the CDC, include decorating pumpkins at a safe distance with neighbors, decorating your home, having a virtual costume contest and hosting a Halloween movie night with people in your household. Socially distanced scavenger hunts, either for Halloween-themed items around the neighborhood or for candy around your home, may also be a good option.
Most of the remaining activities (and the ones closer to traditional Halloween festivities) are considered “moderate risk,” according to the CDC guidelines. Those include:
- “One-way trick-or-treating,” where houses place goodie bags at the end of driveways or yards for families to grab while walking by.
- Outdoor costume parties where protective masks are warn (the guidance makes clear that a costume mask is not a good substitute for a protective cloth mask and that costume masks should not be worn over cloth masks.)
- Outdoor scary-movie parties with friends or haunted forests are an OK option as long as 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,” the guidelines say.
In general, the guidelines say indoor events are riskier than outdoor ones, and more people at an event means there is a greater threat. Community spread can also be a concern.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean told the Statesman on Thursday that her personal plan was to put out individual plastic bags of candy for trick-or-treaters.
“I imagine I’ll be watching from the window, wishing I could say hi because it’s such a fun night,” she said. “But there are safe ways to do this.”
McLean said the biggest difference was that the city was not going to issue permits for large events for the holiday, just as the city isn’t issuing permits for any large events, period. For Ada County, Central District Health has an order in place mandating masks in public places and prohibiting social gatherings of more than 10 people.
Seth Ogilvie, spokesperson for McLean, emphasized that a safe and healthy Halloween “might look a little different this year.”
“We encourage those planning Halloween activities to review the guidance and incorporate the suggestions into their plans,” he said in an email.
The Halloween and Costume Association, an industry group, put out recommendations for localities based on threat levels as determined by a dashboard created by the Harvard Global Health Institute. Ada and Canyon counties are both considered to be at an “orange” risk level, the second-highest, indicating that the area is considered to have “accelerated spread.”
The association recommends communities in the orange zone consider doing trick-or-treating in reverse (where children stand alongside the street wearing costumes while neighbors drive by and deliver candy), a costume week, or a neighborhood candy hunt with a treasure map that would allow for social distancing.
In yellow zones, including Elmore and Boise counties, for instance, the association recommends that trick-or-treating continue as normal. In red zones (which right now includes much of the eastern part of the state, including Bonneville, Bingham and Power counties), the association recommends that people stay home.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
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