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Halloween Guidance 2020

Posted on: September 24, 2020 - 9:31am

Halloween will be upon us in a little over a month and the CDC has recently released new guidelines for celebrating this holiday. These guidelines are broken down into lower risk activities, moderate risk activities, and higher risk activities.

Lower risk activities

These lower risk activities can be safe alternatives:

  • 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 things 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 Halloween movie night with people you live with
  • Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house

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, outdoor, open-air costume parade where people are distanced more than 6 feet apart
  • Attending a costume party held outdoors where protective masks are used and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
    • A costume mask (such as for Halloween) is not a substitute for a cloth mask. A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and doesn’t leave gaps around the face.
    • Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.
  • 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 encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing
  • Having an outdoor Halloween movie night with local family friends with people spaced at least 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.
    • Lower your risk by following CDC’s recommendations on hosting gatherings or cook-outs.

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
  • Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
  • 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
  • Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
  • Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19

The Town of Chester in no way wishes to prevent residents from celebrating Halloween in any manner they choose on their own property.  However, we cannot provide the support of Town resources for those activities that the CDC has deemed high risk. The Chester Street Halloween event that occurs every year on Halloween incorporates at least 3 of the 7 high-risk activities from the list. Consequently, the Town will not be providing its usual support for Halloween on Chester Street – including police and fire details, traffic cones, bathrooms, etc.

While trick-or-treating is not prohibited on Chester Street this year, we want to emphasize the following items to be aware of.

  • Participation from residents on Chester Street will be much lower than normal
  • There will be no traffic control from the Police Department so traffic will be moving at normal speeds in excess of 30 MPH
  • There is virtually no lighting on Chester Street making those not wearing reflective clothing and carrying lights difficult to see

Based on the last 2 safety concerns, we would encourage those that still plan to trick-or-treat to do this within your own communities that are not located on busy state roads. Furthermore, we would encourage you to look at the list of lower risk activities as an option during this pandemic Halloween.