Tips to Stay Safe on Halloween This 2021
Halloween dates back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain around 2,000 years ago, with the observance in the United States beginning around the 1840s. In the years since then, it has become of the country’s most popular holidays. This is especially true for children who enjoy the opportunity to dress up, go trick-or-treating, and eat tasty treats.
With the ongoing presence of COVID-19, Halloween is going to look somewhat different this year. Many events are once again cancelled or scaled-down, and families may also be looking at alternatives to the usual activities. In this blog post, we’ll provide some useful safety tips to stay safe on Halloween.
Keeping Safe from COVID-19
If your children are going to be trick-or-treating this Halloween or meeting up with other children, it is recommended that they factor safety into their Halloween costume. If they are wearing a scary mask, it’s advisable to wear a regular face mask underneath and to incorporate gloves into their costume. Do not paint or decorate medical face masks.
Transmission of coronavirus on surfaces is low. That said, it is still a good idea to first sanitize your children’s candy before allowing them to handle it.
Other good practices include:
- Limiting group sizes for trick-or-treating
- Social distancing should be practiced as much as possible
- All trick-or-treating should be done outdoors
- The number of houses children visit should be limited
- Children should stay at home if feeling sick
Safe Alternatives This Halloween
Due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission, one alternative to regular trick-or-treating is to organize a family-only hunt for Halloween goodies, similar to an Easter egg hunt. If you have elderly family members who are keen to see their grandchildren dressed up, a good alternative is to host a virtual costume party.
Other fun activities include:
- Watching Halloween-themed movies
- Spending time painting and carving pumpkins
- Decorating your home with cobwebs and ghosts
If you wish to cater to children who will participate in trick-or-treating this year, it’s recommended that you leave individually wrapped candies in the front yard. This way, children can collect them without the need for close contact.
Should something unexpected happen over the Halloween period, you can always trust Physicians Premier ER in Corpus Christi for the best medical care.
Tips to Stay Safe on Halloween
For the second year in a row, Halloween is going to look a little different. That doesn’t mean you and your children can’t get into the spooky spirit of the holiday; it just requires some advance planning to ensure a safe and fun night for everyone.
There are plenty of alternatives to the typical Halloween experience, and the above tips to stay safe on Halloween are designed to reduce the likelihood of transmission of the virus. However, should you need us, Physicians Premier is here to help. Check out our contact page today for more information about our Corpus Christi ER and a list of our locations.
Sources:
Melika Lotfi, Michael R. Hamblin, Nima Rezae. “COVID-19: Transmission, prevention, and potential therapeutic opportunities” Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection, 29 May. 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7256510/
“Coronavirus outbreak and kids” Harvard Health Publishing, 21 September. 2020, https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus-outbreak-and-kids
