The CDC Is Officially Recommending That People Avoid Traditional Trick-Or-Treating This Year
The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention has released its guidelines for safely celebrating some fall holidays like Halloween, and they've officially recommended that people avoid traditional trick-or-treating as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
In the CDC's most recent post, it outlines certain activities that are common on Halloween and groups them into lower, moderate, and higher-risk activities. "Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween," this part of the post begins.
Some examples of lower risk activities include carving or decorating pumpkins outside at a safe distance with neighbors or friends, as well as with members of your household within your own home. They also classify "having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house" as a lower-risk activity.
The CDC considers "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," to be a moderate-risk activity. Other moderate activities include small outdoor costume parties and attending a haunted forest where people stay six feet away.
Finally, the agency presents a list of higher-risk activities and say that people should "avoid these higher risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19." These include "participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door," and even "having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots."
It remains to be seen if cities will follow the CDC's recommendations and restrict or discourage trick-or-treating, but if you're looking for safer alternatives, you can check out the CDC's full post for additional ideas.
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