Tricks for a safer Halloween

Struggling with how to make Halloween a little less scary this year? The BC Centre for Disease Control has some tricks for you.

Safer trick-or-treating

1. Respect homes by staying away if the lights are out.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Wash your hands before you go out, when you get home, and before eating treats.
   • Keep hand sanitizer with you for 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.
5. 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.

Skip Halloween parties this year

1. 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.
2. 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!

Get creative handing out treats

1. Use tongs, a baking sheet or make a candy slide to give more space when handing out candy.   
2. Plan to hand out individual treats instead of offering a shared bowl.   
3. Only hand out sealed, pre-packaged treats.
4. Wear a non-medical mask that covers your nose and mouth when handing out treats.   
5. 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
6. Help make trick-or-treating more accessible to everyone by handing out treats from the bottom of your stairs or at your curb-side.