Mamisoa's Training Post 4

With the continued increase in COVID-19 transmission in our communities, Halloween and other holiday celebrations will need to look different.

Halloween safety information

To celebrate Halloween safely this year and help stop the spread of COVID-19 keep these general tips in mind: 

• Keep gatherings small. Keep indoor gatherings to 10 people or fewer and outdoor gatherings to 25 people or fewer.
  • Hold small gatherings outside, if possible. Wear masks and stay 6 feet away from other guests.
  • Open windows and/or doors to allow air to flow, when possible if gathering indoors.
• Wear a mask indoors and outdoors if gathering with anyone that does not live with you.
• Encourage guests to bring their own food, drinks, and treats. Do not share utensils or drinking cups.
• Always stay at least 6 feet away from people that do not live with you.

Remember who came to the gathering. Keep a list of invited guests in case one of them gets COVID-19. This list will be helpful if you're contacted by a health department case interviewer.

Stay home if you do not feel well or are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19 (CDC: People at Increased Risk).
If you have been diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19, do not host or participate in any in-person activities.
Costume masks are not substitutes for cloth face masks. The best face masks have two layers of fabric and cover your nose and mouth. Wearing a cloth face mask under a costume mask is not recommended because it may be hard to breathe.
Celebrate Halloween safely this year and help stop the spread of COVID-19. Choose activities with lower risk. See the safety tips above.

Lower-risk activities

Celebrate at home with family. Carve or decorate pumpkins. Have a Halloween movie night with treats.
Celebrate outside with family, neighbors, and friends. Carve or decorate pumpkins outside. Hold a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt.
Host a virtual Halloween costume parade
Medium-risk activities

No-contact neighborhood trick-or-treating. Put treats in small goodie bags and place them at the end of your driveway, on a table a few feet away from your door or at the edge of your yard for children/families to grab and go.
An outdoor costume party or haunted forest. Follow the safety tips above.
Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards. Use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples. Follow the safety tips above.
Higher-risk activities

Traditional trick-or-treating and even trunk-or-treating where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots, pose an increased risk. To make it safer, be creative on how you hand out treats. Make a 'slide' for treats or make a game of it by gently tossing the treats into the child's bucket.
Costume parties or haunted houses held indoors for long periods of time with large groups.
Hayrides with a lot of people from many geographic areas.

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