Stay Safe this Halloween
In accordance with the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT-DPH) guidance, the Town of East Hartford would like to remind residents to stay safe this Halloween. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic requires all of us to take steps to keep ourselves, our families, and our communities safe and healthy: wear our masks, wash our hands frequently, and maintain social distancing.
Traditional Halloween activities carry a high risk for spreading COVID-19, but we can reduce that risk significantly by organizing and participating in fun, lower risk alternatives. In addition, the ability to maintain social distancing and follow face covering rules is especially important when participating in Halloween activities this year. CT-DPH and the East Hartford Health Department recommend that residents avoid higher risk Halloween traditions and focus celebrations on the lower risk activities, including safe trick-or-treating, for Halloween 2020:
Lower Risk Activities:
- Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household
- Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
- In lieu of in-person house parties, host virtual Halloween events, e.g. virtual costume contests.
- Prepare candy scavenger hunts at home with your household members
- Have a Halloweeen movie night with people in your household
Host drive-by Halloween events, e.g. neighborhood or town-based house decorating
Higher Risk Activities:
- Hosting or attending large parties that exceed 25 people indoors or 150 people outdoors (this can result in fines)
- Attending large Halloween-themed parades where physical distancing cannot be maintained
- Attending indoor haunted houses where people may be crowded together and screaming
- Participating in hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
- Traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
Trick-or-Treating Recommendations:
- Instead of traditional trick-or-treating, consider participating in one-way trick-or-treating where goodie bags or a large bowl of candy are placed outside of your home for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance.
- If you are preparing goodie bags, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 second before and after preparing the bags.
- For people who choose to hand out candy:
- Before you answer the door, make sure your face covering is in place over your nose and mouth.
- Wash or sanitize your hands before answering door.
- Remain six feet from the Trick-or-Treater.
- Place the candy inside the child’s bag for them instead of having them take it from the bowl themselves.
- Homes providing candy should set up hand sanitizer stations outside or parents/guardians can pack a travel bottle of their own.
- Parents/guardians should limit the number of homes their children visit.
- It is not recommended to trick-or-treat with people outside of your household.
- Remain six feet away from people outside your household at all times.
- All trick-or-treating participants should wear a mask or face covering while outside at all times.
- A costume mask (such as for Halloween) is not a substitute for a cloth or surgical mask. A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and does not leave gaps around the face.
- Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth or surgical mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.
- Do not wear a costume rubber mask over another face covering of any kind.
- Please refrain from leaving your home for any Halloween activity and do not pass out Halloween candy if you are ill or have traveled to one of the states listed on the Connecticut travel advisory between October 16th and October 30th (i.e. 14 days before Halloween).
- In this case, residents should be following the testing and self-quarantining guidelines, per Executive Order No. 9C.