CDC recommendations for safer trick-or-treating

Halloween is upon us, and with cases of COVID-19 climbing, a lot of people are reconsidering how to celebrate.

The CDC says traditional trick-or-treating is a “high risk” activity, but we know a lot of families are planning to go anyway. And lots of houses will still be handing out candy.

So if you do plan to hand out candy or trick-or-treat, Dr. Frank McGeorge has compiled some steps you can take to lower the risks. The following are all tips that he has:

Forget the usual approach of putting all the candy in one bowl and handing it out at your door. Instead, mask up and put on some gloves. Make up individual bags of candy that the trick or treaters can easily grab and go.

To hand it out, disinfect a table and set it up near the sidewalk. Space out the candy on the table as much as possible. Wear your mask and be sure to keep your distance as the trick or treaters go by.

Children should trick or treat only with members of your household and keep at least six feet of distance from other groups. Everyone should wear a fabric mask with at least two layers - the Halloween mask doesn’t count! Having your child wear gloves is a good idea too.

Avoid crowded neighborhoods or head out earlier to make it easier to maintain social distance.

Once you get the candy home, consider switching it out with some candy from the store. You can also “quarantine” the candy you collected for a few days, to reduce the risk from touching the wrappers.

Another thing to remember, you do not want to spray chemical cleaners on the candy wrappers. That could contaminate the candy that your kids are going to eat. Instead maybe have the adults open the candy, and wash their hands immediately after.