Safe Halloween Recommendations

Jack o'lantern next to sign indicating October 31

The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) wants everyone to have a great holiday season. If you are planning Halloween or other holiday activities, we have some tips and recommendations from our partners at Intermountain Healthcare and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to keep you and your family safe while having fun.

These recommendations are to help you make informed decisions and do not take the place of any state or local health or safety guidelines. Before planning any type of holiday gathering or activity, you should check The Utah Health Guidance Level for your community. You can find information for your community at: https://coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels/.

For Trick-or-Treaters

  • A costume mask does not replace a cloth mask.
  • Make your cloth mask part of your costume.
  • Consider wearing a Halloween-themed face covering. Halloween masks do not protect against COVID-19.
  • Do NOT wear a costume mask over a cloth mask. It can make breathing more difficult.
  • Masks should NOT be worn by children younger than the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing.

Stay at least 6 feet away from others who do not live in your home.

Indoors and outdoors, you are more likely to get or spread COVID-19 when you are in close contact with others for a long time.

Trick-or-treating

Trick-or-treating is mostly done outside. It is a much better option than an indoor gathering. You can trick-or-treat safely if you wear a cloth face covering and stay at least 6 feet away from people who don’t live in your home.

● Stay at least 6 feet away from others.
Wait to go up to a door if there is already a group there.
● Don’t stay at any one house for more than a few minutes.
● Don’t let your kids eat their candy before they get home. When you get home, you can wipe the wrappers off with a disinfecting wipe.

Wash your hands

  • Bring hand sanitizer with you and use it after touching objects or other people.
  • Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
  • Parents: supervise young children using hand sanitizer.
  • Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds when you get home and before you eat any treats.

Do not go trick-or-treating, or to a party or other activities if you or someone who lives in your home:

  • Has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
  • Was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
  • Should be in isolation or quarantine.
  • Has symptoms of COVID-19.
  • Is waiting for COVID-19 test results.
  • Is at higher-risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Know your risk

  • Take extra precautions if you are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, or live or work with someone at higher-risk for severe illness. To find out more about who may be at higher- risk, visit https://coronavirus.utah.gov/protecting-high-risk-individuals/.
  • Celebrate virtually or with just the people who live in your home.
  • Don’t go to in-person gatherings with people who don’t live in your home or large gatherings with many people.
  • If you go to an in-person gathering with people who do not live in your household, try to participate in lower risk activities (see tables below).

For those answering the door:

  • Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters.
  • Give out treats outdoors, if possible.
  • Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take.
  • Wash hands before handling treats.
  • Wear a mask.

Trunk-or-treats:

  • Follow the recommendations for trick-or-treating.
  • Have trunk-or-treaters go in a one-way direction.
  • Park cars at least 6-feet apart. Don’t ride together. Each car should only have people who live in the same home.
  • Don’t go to a trunk-or-treat if anyone in your home is at higher-risk.

When you get home:

  • Everyone should wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
  • Wipe down candy wrappers with a disinfectant wipe before your child eats anything. Don’t wipe down the candy itself; that would be dangerous.
  • Throw away anything that is open, homemade, or is not individually wrapped.
Activities with Lower riskActivities with Moderate riskActivities with Higher risk
Trick-or-treat scavenger hunt with your family at home.Trick-or-treaters go in a one- way direction. Individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for kids to grab.
**Anything inside the goodie bags should also be individually wrapped. Don’t give out or eat things that are homemade this year.
Traditional trick-or-treating without masks and physical distancing.

Halloween parties and activities

We don’t recommend having a Halloween party with people who don’t live in your home. If you want to have a Halloween party, keep it small and invite only immediate family members. You can lower the risk and make a Halloween party safer by taking precautions and using strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

If you’re going to a party, here are some things to consider:

  • Try to have parties outside. Indoor gatherings have more risk than outdoor ones. This is especially important if people who don’t live in the same homes are eating or drinking.
  • Keep your face covering on as much as possible.
  • Ask everyone to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer when they get there. Make sure soap and water or hand sanitizer is available.
  • Stay at least 6 feet away from other families if you eat or drink. Put your face covering back on right after you are done eating. Any time you take your face covering off, it increases your risk of getting or spreading the virus.
  • Do not go to parties where people aren’t wearing face coverings. These have been shown to be extremely high risk for COVID-19 transmission.
  • Avoid buffet-style eating. One person should serve food. Each family should sit at a different table.
  • Have games or activities kids can do with their masks on. No bobbing for apples this year!
Activities that are Lower RiskActivities that are Moderate RiskActivities that are Higher Risk
Carve or decorate pumpkins with your family or people who live in your home.Outdoor costume party or parade with a small group who all wear face coverings.

Make sure people can physically distance and stay at least 6 feet apart.
Crowded costume parties held indoors.
Carve or decorate pumpkins outside with your neighbors or friends.

Make sure to keep everyone at a safe distance and wear a face covering when you will be closer than 6 feet apart.
Going to an open-air, one- way, walk-through haunted forest where mask use is enforced.Indoor haunted houses.
Decorate your house, apartment, or living space.Pumpkin patches or orchards.Hayrides or tractor rides with people who don’t live in your home.
Do a Halloween scavenger hunt.Outdoor Halloween movie night with family and friends who live in your community. Make sure everyone is spaced at least 6 feet apart.Traveling to a rural fall festival outside of your community.
Have a virtual Halloween costume contest.
Have a Halloween movie night with the people you live with.

For more information, visit:

https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/covid-19/2020/10/covid-19-how-to-have-a-safe-and-fun-halloween/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html