Social Distancing Trick-Or-Treat Ideas For A Safer Halloween

There are a lot of ways, both big and small, that the coronavirus pandemic has changed lives. Schools, travel, work and even the way holidays are celebrated has changed. As the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down, it's not too early to wonder what Halloween will look like in 2020.

How can you trick-or-treat safely this October? The Daily Meal spoke with Dr. Amyna Husain, a physician in pediatric emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins who specializes in disaster preparedness for pediatrics, and emailed with Dr. Gary Reschak, a pediatrician at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, to see how trick-or-treaters and adults handing out candy can safely handle Halloween.

The first thing you should do when researching trick-or-treating is check state, county, local and even neighborhood regulations. The rates of coronavirus have varied across the country, and the percentages of people at high risk per state vary as well. Be cognizant of the rates and rules in your area to determine whether or not the activity is a good idea.

It's fun to go trick-or-treating with friends, but for 2020, keep it with close friends and family members, or within your child's schooling pandemic pod. "If a group of kids are going trick-or-treating, they may be going with other family members," Husain said. "You don't want to be mixing kids that don't normally mix with each other to continue to keep people safe from others they aren't already exposed to all the time."

Halloween parties in a spooky real-life haunted house or hotel have been popular in the past, but for 2020, keep it to socially distanced trick-or-treating. "Outdoor locations are always better, and if you live in an area of the country that may have a rainy or cold Halloween, I wouldn't recommend going to an indoor celebration," Reschak said. "The risk goes up substantially when you attend an indoor event with a lot of people."

One of the top tips for coronavirus safety, whether you're at the grocery store or dining at a restaurant, applies to Halloween trick-or-treating as well: wear a mask. "The most important precaution is wearing an appropriate mask because the virus that causes COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets," Reschak said. In fact, you can incorporate your mask into your costume. Husain noted that health care worker costumes, ninja costumes and other costume ideas are especially suited for masks.

Ensure that you and your child are not just wearing a face mask properly, but that it's also comfortable. Trick-or-treating is a physical activity that can last for hours, so you want to ensure it has good wearability. "People need to be careful that the mask is actually covering the nose and the mouth safely enough that the child is not going to have trouble breathing and not want to take it off because it's so uncomfortable," Husain said. "Try out the costume before Halloween so they know it's comfortable."

Instead of opting for gloves, Husain recommends carrying clip-on hand sanitizers for trick-or-treating and using the sanitizer between houses. Reschak echoed that recommendation. "If you choose to go house to house for trick-or-treating, be prepared to practice good hand hygiene at every location," he said. "Bring along hand sanitizer to use before you move from one location to another."

Still not sure whether or not you want to eat that candy? That's OK. Reschak said you can let it sit for 10 to 14 days before consuming. You can also wash the outside wrapper with soap and water or check the FDA and CDC guidelines as Halloween approaches.

It's always important to get your flu shot, but for 2020 (and before trick-or-treating), it's even more important. "Parents and children should get their annual flu shots before Halloween this year," Reschak said. "We definitely want to avoid getting influenza and this coronavirus at the same time. Another reason we want to reduce the spread of the flu this year is to conserve medical resources. Every prevented case of influenza gives us more resources to use as we care for people who have COVID-19."

Passing candy to a child or having kids reach into a big bowl of sweets can cause cross-contamination in the middle of a pandemic. So how can you safely hand out treats? Use small plastic baggies. "Have candies, or whatever you choose to put out, out on the doorstep in small quantities that people can take," Husain recommended. "A Ziploc of treats to-go would be good instead of having a full bowl and having a kid put their hand in a full bowl after another kid puts their hand in that full bowl and continues to spread the virus."

Cincinnati father Andrew Beattie has gone viral this fall for his creative trick-or-treating hack. He took some common household items, a 6-foot cardboard tube, orange spray paint and black duct tape and created a "candy chute" that he attached to his handrail. If you have an old gift wrap tube and some markers, you can recreate this chute, which turns socially-distanced trick-or-treating into a bit of a game that's fun for kids and adults.

According to the CDC, trick-or-treating traditionally is a higher risk activity. A low risk activity for Halloween? Scavenger hunts. Channel your inner Easter bunny, and place Halloween candy in tiny plastic pumpkins (think Easter eggs, but Halloween-y). Like an egg hunt, hide the treats around your neighborhood and let kids go wild.

One of the classic rules of trick-or-treat etiquette is that if you don't want to participate, you keep your lights off. This is doubly important for 2020. In addition to keeping your porch lights off, Husain recommends communities give signs out to people who don't want to participate in trick-or-treating this year. "Maybe the community decides a certain sign in the doorway says this house is taking a pass this year and asks people not to stop at that home because people in that household are at higher risk and don't want to be exposed," she said.