Here's how to trick-or-treat safely this Halloween
Trick-or-treating is back on this year but there are still some precautions to consider to lower the risk of contracting COVID-19.
The annual Halloween candy hunt is a favourite for children, but many are still unvaccinated. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch offered some tips on CTV Morning Live for making the most of your night and keeping your little ghouls and goblins safe.
Wear a mask
Bogoch says making sure your kids have masks on if they're near other people is one of the best ways to help keep them safe.
"If people are outdoors, trick-or-treating with their family, if they have a mask on when they're in close proximity to other people, it should be okay. I mean, that's about as safe as it gets," he said.
Ottawa Public Health suggests you get creative in working a face covering into the costume.
"Know that a costume mask is not a substitute for a face covering. A costume mask should not be worn over a non-medical mask or face covering because it can make it hard to breathe," OPH says.
A jack-o'-lantern dons a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stay outdoors
You can avoid a lot of risk by sticking to door-to-door trick-or-treating and keeping away from larger gatherings indoors, Bogoch said.
"You just have to avoid the places that we know where COVID is transmitted: indoor gatherings, unmasked, lots of people, people who are unvaccinated, those are kinds of situations to avoid and we can easily avoid that on Halloween," he said. "Just be outside with your family. You're not going to get COVID from touching that little box of Smarties and opening it up. This is mostly transmitted through the air."
OPH also recommends keeping outdoors and also suggests having hand sanitizer ready for before and after handling masks, when getting home, and before and after eating treats.
Children trick-or-treat in Ottawa on Halloween, Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Keep interactions at the door brief
Ottawa Public Health recommends to trick-or-treaters and the candy-givers to keep interactions brief.
Bogoch adds that as long as there isn't a lot of crowding near the door, knocking and asking for treats is a low-risk activity.
"If you have a mask on, if there's not a big crowd gathered on the doorstep, I think it's totally reasonable," he said. "Of course, we're not in an era where things are 100 per cent safe but, in general, this would be about as low risk as it gets."
If you're handing out candy, OPH recommends you wash your hands frequently through the evening and to keep the mask on if you’re going to be close to others.
Carol McCarthy sends candy down the candy chute that she will use to give out treats to socially-distant trick-or-treaters on Halloween, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Palmyra, N.J. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Stay home if you're sick
Ottawa Public Health says if you or your children are showing any symptoms of COVID-19, don't go out trick-or-treating and don't hand out candy, even if your symptoms are mild.
This also goes for Halloween parties or other festivities.
Bogoch says there is always the possibility of a post Halloween spike in cases, but he says it would be linked more to parties indoors than trick-or-treating in small groups on Halloween night.
"We have to expect that people are going to having parties, like every Halloween," he said, "but we're still in the midst of a pandemic so you'd definitely want to avoid large indoor gatherings, especially with unvaccinated individuals, particularly kids under 12. You still have to be careful here.
"But, from a trick-or-treating standpoint: outdoors? I think we're okay here."
Person checking their temperature with a thermometer. (Shutterstock)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.