(Release from the BC Centre for Disease Control)
Celebrate less socially and trick-or-treat locally this Halloween!
- Skip Halloween parties this year
- Trick or treating in small groups can be a safe and a fun activity
- Get creative in making space when handing out treats
No matter how you celebrate Halloween this year…
- Turn off your porch light and stay at home if you are sick or self-isolating.
- Try including a non-medical mask or face covering as part of your costume.
- Costume masks should not be worn over non-medical masks or face coverings as that may make it difficult to breathe.
- Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer often.
Skip Halloween parties this year
- Leave the parties behind.
- Indoor gatherings, big or small, put people at higher risk of getting COVID-19.
- Celebrate with your favourite Halloween movie or other traditions that you can do with your household or social group.
- If you host or attend a small party, keep it within your social group (Stick to six).
- You should know everyone who attends, no plus ones.
- Follow our guidelines for safer celebrations.
- Don’t pass around snacks, drinks, smokes, tokes, and vapes
- Be more outside, than inside. Keep your space well-ventilated with windows open.
- Avoid using props that can cause coughing, such as smoke machines.
- Be careful with hand sanitizer and open flames – hand sanitizer is very flammable!
Trick-or-treating can be done safely by following these tips
- Respect homes by staying away if the lights are out.
- Keep to your local neighbourhood this year.
- Avoid trick-or-treating in busy areas or indoors (in places like malls) since there may not be enough space to distance. Indoor spaces may require a non-medical mask or face covering.
- Trick-or-treat in a small social group, stick to six people.
- Leave space between you and other groups to reduce crowding on stairs and sidewalks.
- Wash your hands before you go out, when you get home, and before eating treats.
- Keep hand sanitizer with you if eating treats on the go.
- You don’t need to clean every treat. You should instead wash your hands after handling treats and not touch your face.
Get creative handing out treats
- Get creative!
- Use tongs, a baking sheet or make a candy slide to give more space when handing out candy.
- Plan to hand out individual treats instead of offering a shared bowl.
- Only hand out sealed, pre-packaged treats.
- Wear a non-medical mask that covers your nose and mouth when handing out treats.
- Be more outside, than inside.
- If you can, stand outside your door to hand out treats. Then kids won’t need to touch the door or doorbell.
- If you’re unable to sit outside to hand out treats, clean and disinfect doorbells and knobs, handrails, and any other high touch surface often during the evening
- If you are decorating, avoid props that can cause coughing, such as smoke machines.
- Stick to the treats – not tricks.