Halloween is creeping up here in the community, but could COVID-19 scare it off?

Centre Wellington Mayor Kelly Linton says he hasn’t heard of any direct concerns from people in the community regarding the candy filled night.

“I do keep up on what’s going on social media and I do see that people are concerned and that’s no surprise," Linton said. "Obviously, with COVID going on, people are concerned with any kind of interaction like that.”

Linton says that Halloween is not a township or county holiday and he does not have the authority to cancel it.

“We’re doing pretty good here in Wellington County and it’s because we are being responsible,” he said about active cases.

The region currently only has four active cases of COVID-19.

Mayor Kelly Linton:

Rita Isley, Chief Nursing Officer at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, says there aren't a lot of concerns with kids going out trick-or-treating in their neighbourhood, provided they follow all of the COVID-19 guidance.

“We want them to wear face coverings, we want them to practice physical distancing, and we want them to remain in their bubble,” Isley said.

Isley says it would be a good idea for the parents of the children that are trick-or-treating to download the COVID-19 app, as it helps with identifying exposures, if that comes into play.

However, Isley says Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health wants to be very cautious about Halloween this year as it relates to social gatherings and parties.

“What we’re seeing and what we’re experiencing from our COVID counts across the province is we’re seeing an increase and a lot of those increases are related to these types of gatherings or parties’ people are attending,” she said.

Isley stresses that Halloween parties in 2020 should be avoided.