Funny This Is What Im Handing Out This Halloween

Here's what you need to know before you head out trick-or-treating on Halloween

As children across the country prepare to go out during the pandemic, some provinces and territories including Ontario have issued COVID Halloween guidelines to help people celebrate safely.

If the picture of your friend's kid suddenly morphing into a terrifying dragon on your Instagram feed or the monster-sized boxes of mini candy bars at the grocery store wasn't a dead giveaway, Halloween is just around the corner.

For everyone who plans to be out celebrating on Sunday (or, pretty much now), here are some things you need to know before you grab your broom and head out the door in what is officially the holiday's second time around with COVID-19 in the mix.

Tips for kids going door-to-door trick-or-treating

Stay home if you or your child aren't feeling well. If you need a refresher, some of the most common COVID-19 symptoms can include a cough, joint pain, fatigue, fever, shortness of breath, nausea or a decreased sense of smell and taste.

The province recommends working a mask into your costume.

Try to stay outside, don't crowd doorsteps, and try to encourage children and parents to take turns stepping up one at a time.

Ontario says everyone should use hand sanitizer frequently through the evening, especially after touching common surfaces like doorbells and doorknobs, and to sanitize or wash your hands as soon as you arrive home.

The province says you don't need to clean or disinfect prepackaged treats, as we are all now aware that COVID transmission is mainly through aerosols and droplets and virtually never by touching an inanimate surface.

If the lights are off, skip the house and move on to the next. There may be a number of reasons people aren't handing out treats this year, including self-isolation or being immunocompromised. New Brunswick is even offering people a printable sign that reads "No visitors please...Have a happy and safe Halloween."

A recent poll suggests that less than half of Canadians plan to open their doors to trick-or-treaters due to COVID-19.

Tips for people handing out candy

Don't ask children to sing for their supper. Or in this case, their candy.

This guidance isn't just limited to Ontario, Quebec has also warned people handing out treats not to ask trick-or-treaters to sing or shout.

People in Alberta are also being encouraged to use tongs to hand out candy or to use a candy slide or candy catapult to distribute treats instead.

Keep the line moving and your interactions with trick-or-treaters short, Ontario recommends.

Some provinces like P.E.I. are recommending against putting out communal treat bowls that might encourage children to gather closely in a space.

Wear a mask.

Even you're dressed as a Paw Patrol pup or donning a green tracksuit as Contestant 456, wear a mask

The province says a costume mask is not the same as a face covering, and recommends people try to incorporate masks into their costume ideas.

Guidelines also warn against wearing a costume mask over a non-medical mask or face covering "because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe."

Almost all of the provinces and territories that have released Halloween guidelines (even Alberta) recommend that people handing out candy should also wear a face covering.

Ontario recommends that people from different households who are either unvaccinated or where their vaccination status is unknown, should consider wearing a mask even when outdoors if physical distancing isn't possible.

The same advice goes for indoor gatherings where people from multiple households who may be partially vaccinated, unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

The province says that if a group of fully vaccinated individuals are getting together indoors or outdoors, wearing a mask is not required.

COVID isn't taking a holiday

Most of the country still has COVID gathering restrictions and mask mandates in place. And while outbreaks of COVID-19 in Ontario elementary and secondary schools appear to be trending downwards from the numbers we saw at the start of the school year, children under 12 still aren't eligible to be vaccinated.

Provinces and Territories issue Halloween guidelines

Here are some of the guidelines issued by the provinces and territories for Halloween safety during a pandemic.

RELATED STORIES

Ontario

Quebec

Manitoba

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Northwest Territories

Prince Edward Island

Yukon

New Brunswick

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Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/10/29/heres-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-head-out-trick-or-treating-on-halloween.html

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