Mask Up for Halloween: Be Spooky, But Safe

By: Andrea M. Cohick, Lawyer at Metzger Wickersham

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Ben! Ben who? Ben waiting for Halloween all year!

Tomorrow is Halloween 2020, but given the still present risk of COVID-19, traditional Halloween activities may not be the safest celebrations for you and your family. However, there are alternative ways that everyone can still enjoy Halloween festivities while practicing social distancing.

When planning to host a Halloween celebration, you should assess current COVID-19 levels in your community to determine whether to postpone, cancel, or limit the number of attendees. Event organizers and attendees should also consider the risk of virus spread based on event size and use of mitigation strategies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers the following suggestions for low to moderate risk activities that people can follow and still enjoy Halloween festivities.

1. Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them; this can also be done with those in your neighborhood if done outside and there is separation between people of other households
2. Decorating your house, apartment, or living space for the fall season
3. 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; or do one inside your home with only members of your household
4. Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
5. Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
6. 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)
7. Having a small group, outdoor, open-air costume parade where people are distanced more than six feet apart
8. Going to an open-air, one-way, walk-through haunted forest where appropriate mask use is enforced, and people can remain more than six feet apart
9. Visiting a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, or an orchard 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
10. Having an outdoor Halloween movie night with local family friends with people spaced at least six feet apart

No matter how you spend Halloween amid COVID-19, mask up and be safe. A safe Halloween is a Happy Halloween. Metzger Wickersham wishes you a safe and spooktacular evening of sweets, treats, and fun. Happy Halloween!