Tricks, treats and Covid-19: Ways to celebrate Halloween safely during the pandemic
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso City-County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza is warning El Pasoans that traditional trick-or-treating is just too risky to allow this year.
As a result, Halloween won't look like it used to. Crowds of children and shared candy bowls all present the risk of exposure to Covid-19.
"The risk of trick-or-treating is going to be high because first of all, social distancing is going to be very difficult," said Dr. Armando Meza, an infectious disease specialist with Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso. "Number two, you're going to be with people that you are not interacting with on a regular basis. And three, you are going to be receiving from another home, getting any candy or anything that is being touched by someone else."
If you plan to celebrate, the CDC recommends staying outdoors and limiting the number of people you interact with.
When it comes to costumes, Dr. Meza said costume masks cannot act as a replacement for masks intended to protect against the virus. He warns against wearing both at the same time, which can limit breathing.
The CDC offers a list of low-risk activities for Halloween. It includes carving pumpkins, hosting a virtual costume contest and setting up a candy scavenger hunt at home. The CDC also recommends having a Halloween movie night with people in your household and decorating your living space.
"One-way trick-or-treating," is listed as a moderate risk activity, in which candy is individually wrapped and placed in grab-and-go style outside.
El Paso mom Stephanie Garmon is setting up a Halloween fun house at home.
"We want to have a station where they can paint pumpkin, a station where we're going to make cookies on a stick and brownies," she said. "We're going to have a bunch of games for them. So we'll have an bobbing for apples station, a witch's hat, which is ring hat tossing where they can win prizes."
Garmon said her whole family visits a pumpkin patch each Halloween. When the pandemic cancelled those plans, she was not sure how her kids would react.
"We talked to them about, you know, normally when we go on a hayride, we sit pretty close to someone and that's just not something that we can do right now safely," she said. "They totally get it. When we pitched this idea to them, they were yelling with excitement."
Garmon said getting her kids involved in the process helped.
You can view the CDC's full list of activities here.
