Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) is not recommending you do go out, and not recommending you don’t go out for Halloween tomorrow.
Rita Isley, Director of Community Health with WDGPH shares some safe trick-or-treating guidelines for families who want to go out.
“We would recommend that families treat-or-treat together and not in groups outside of their household families,” Isley said.
Isley says to practice physical distancing with anyone that you don’t live with.
“And then always wear a face covering even though you may have like a Halloween mask that is a mask, we’re asking that you wear a face covering and not just consider the Halloween mask as a substitute, for the face covering,” she said.
She says that it would be a good idea to bring alcohol based sanitizer with you, so that you can clean your hands in between houses.
Isley says if you’re going to be handing out candy make sure you wear a face covering.
“But also the person handing out candy could be wearing gloves to add another layer of protection. We’re hoping that people can be creative and find different ways to hand out candy, so that they can maintain that physical distance while doing so,” she said.
Isley says that WGDPH is also asking everyone that has a mobile device to download the COVID-19 alert app.
Isley says WGDPH are not recommending people gather for household parties or large gatherings either inside or outside.
“We’ve told parents to have their own little household family get together, they can do the bobbing for apples or do other games with their family members to keep everyone entertained,” she said.
But if you’re going out trick-or-treating, Isley shares what you can do with your kids’ candy.
“When you get home, take the candy that they got for trick-or-treating and put it away for 72-hours, and get some candy that they can have right away,” she said.
She also adds that a Halloween scavenger hunt is a great alternative to trick-or-treating.
Rita Isley, Director of Community Health with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health: