Candy tube or slide? Colorado health experts give tips for a safe Halloween

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Halloween is the perfect time to wear a mask. However, local health experts are reminding Coloradans that the mask has to be more than just scary: it has to help protect you from COVID-19, too.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued guidance earlier this month on the best way to safely celebrate Halloween. Near the top of the list was advice that has become commonplace throughout this pandemic:

  • If you’re sick, stay home
  • If you’ve tested positive for COVID-19, stay home and isolate
  • If you’re part of a vulnerable population, consider the risks before socializing with others.

The CDPHE also provided tips specific to trick-or-treating. They advised against door-to-door trick-or-treating because if you’re collecting candy or you’re the one handing it out, “you are unlikely to be able to keep at least 6 feet of distance.”

If you still want to hand out candy on October 31, here are some safer alternatives provided by CDPHE:

  • Line up individually wrapped treats at the end of the driveway or yard’s edge. Watch the fun, and enjoy the costumes from a distance.
  • Use a plastic slide, cardboard tubes, or plastic pipes to deliver candy from a distance.
  • Take kids on an outdoor, distanced treasure hunt to look for candy or Halloween-themed items.

On Tuesday, Governor Jared Polis held a virtual press conference in which he announced he and his family would not be doing traditional trick-or-treating. Instead, the governor said they would be doing trick-or-treating throughout their own home.

“Some people want to go out, and that is fine,” Polis said, before warning to avoid trick-or-treating in large groups. “But if you do it in your home, you can still have fun.”

Of course, masks are important during Halloween. CDPHE recommends wearing non-costume masks when indoors or with people outside your own household. "If wearing a costume mask over a cloth mask makes it hard to breathe, consider a Halloween-themed cloth mask as part of the costume instead," CDPHE said.

Children 10 and under are not required to wear a mask when in public, but CDPHE recommends that anyone over three years old should wear one.

It is important to remember that Colorado is operating under a “dial framework.” Counties across Colorado are evaluated on a five-point scale depending on how serious the COVID-19 pandemic is in their county, so what is safe in one county may not be as safe in another. A large majority of counties in Colorado are classified as either “Safer Level 1” or “Safer Level 2.” Denver County is in Level 2, also referred to as “Concern.” Thankfully, no counties in the state are currently under the two most severe categories.

COVID-19 Dial Dashboard

The county-by-county COVID-19 status provided by CDPHE as of Oct. 7, 2020.

Depending on which level your county is in, CDPHE recommends different ways to celebrate Halloween.

For Level 1, for example, CDPHE advises to “Help your neighborhood with proper social distancing and one-way flow by drawing directional arrows and 6-foot spacers.” For Level 2, they recommend an outdoor movie night. “If screaming is likely (it is Halloween after all!), we advise greater distancing,” CDPHE wrote.

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