Should Bay Area parents send their kids trick-or-treating this year? Here’s what we know – SFGate

Photo: Svetikd/Getty Images

Some Bay Area county health officials have laid out restrictions on Halloween activities this year.

Some Bay Area county health officials have laid out restrictions on...

After a global pandemic and historic wildfires, it's been a pretty scary year for Bay Area families. Now parents are spooked by the possibility that Halloween may be canceled.

With concerns that contact between little candy-grabbing hands throughout neighborhoods could lead to a spike in COVID-19 cases, city officials in Los Angeles briefly banned trick-or-treating altogether earlier this month, only to reverse the decision a day later after some backlash.

Trick-or-treating is still not recommended, in L.A., but its not officially canceled anymore.

But what have Bay Area health officials and parents said about the upcoming festivities?

We took a look at what information some counties around the bay have given about the holiday, and also found some creative solutions being planned to give sugar-hungry, socially starved kids a memorable, happy, only slightly scary Oct. 31.

Some Bay Area county health officials have already laid out some restrictions.

Like in L.A, health officials in San Francisco have not banned trick-or-treating, but say that the activity is "not advised."

Trick-or-treating, the type of mixing that comes in our traditional trick-or-treating festivities, is really not advised under COVID, said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly.

The San Francisco Health Department is working on guidelines that clarify how people may still be able to celebrate. (We will update this story when those specific guidelines are released.)

Mayor London Breed confirmed last week that the holiday will look different this year.

"I'm not certain if Halloween will be problematic," Breed told ABC7. "If we see numbers go up, that could delay reopening and getting kids back to school. We've got to be thoughtful about the decisions we make. Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. It's so tough to ask people to hold off on something like that. We all just got to suffer and do our part."

Alameda County officials are also developing guidelines to help families and children safely celebrate Halloween this year. They advise residents to look for safer alternatives to traditional activities.

Neighborhood block parties are also under threat. Every year, the bucolic, winding Saroni Drive in the Oakland hills is blocked off from traffic so kids can snaffle sugary treats and parents can sip wine coolers into the evening. Parents on the street told SFGATE that the event is unlikely to move forward this year after an elderly neighbor succumbed to the virus.

"I'd love to figure out a creative way to still have a fun and safe place for kiddos to trick-or-treat, but I think we'd definitely need to think creatively about how to do that safely with COVID in mind," parent Molly Webb said. "Things like hosting a movie, as we have done in the past, would likely not happen this year, or at least would need to be done in a very modified way to avoid crowds forming."

While Contra Costa County officials have not banned trick-or-treating, and stress that no one will get fined for taking part in the activity, they strongly advise against it. They have also discouraged haunted houses and big parties.

We are concerned that the traditional trick-or-treating is kind of risky during a COVID pandemic, said health officer Dr. Chris Farnitano.

Other Bay Area counties have not given specific guidance on the holiday, but CDC guidelines released this week strongly discourage trick-or-treating across the country.

Some think that an outright ban on trick-or-treating is an overreach, not supported by data.

"There's very little evidence showing that controlling infection in children has any benefit to controlling the epidemic overall," Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, professor of medicine and public health at UCLA, told the LA Times. "It's disappointing that we continue to make policy recommendations that are not based on the evidence."

The candy industry maybe predictably hasn't taken the news of a trick-or-treating cancellation well.

"Whether this means trick-or-treating, more candy bowl moments at home with family and close friends, or just more time celebrating the season throughout the month of October, one thing is for sure Halloween is happening, the National Confectioners Association said in a statement.

And contradicting many health officials, a new color-coded chart released by the Halloween and Costume Association states that residents in all Bay Area counties, currently in the "yellow" zone, may partake in trick-or-treating.

Others believe that holding off from knocking on strangers door's and burying germy hands in communal buckets of mini Snickers is a small price to pay for getting kids back to school as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, parents across the Bay Area are looking for creative solutions to the problem.

"Like everyone, I want to keep my children and community safe," said Margot Rayhill, a mother of three in Contra Costa County. "This has been a year full of huge disappointments and I really hope we can put our heads together, virtually of course, to come up with solutions so our kids can have some sense of normalcy as we kick off the holiday season."

So if knocking on neighbors' cobwebbed door is off the table this year, what can families do to keep the spooky spirit alive?

One ingenious solution in Michigan involves a ghost on a zip line handing out candy and beers.

Some annual spooky events in the Bay Area are moving ahead, with a few modifications.

The Alameda County Fairgrounds will put on its Pirates of Emerson Haunted House event, as guests can now drive through the spooky theme park. In San Jose, guests can still enjoy an open-air walk down Horror Alley during an immersive experience at Dead Time Dreams.

Even before the pandemic, "Trunk-or-Treating" had become a trend on Halloween in recent years. Parents drive to a school or church parking lot, decorate their trunks with spooky decorations and let their kids meander from car to car, collecting candy at each stop. This activity would arguably reduce the amount of exposure to numerous strangers porches, reducing the chance of viral spread. However, the CDC advises against it in the newly released guidelines.

The public health institute does list some "low risk activities" that can safely be enjoyed including:

Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends.

Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance.

Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with.

"Moderate risk activities" listed on the CDC site include "one-way trick-or-treating," where "individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard)."

Mayor Breed also raised the idea of unconventional Halloween activities. "I know there have been things like drive-by birthday parties with cupcake handouts. Parents have come up with some really creative ways to celebrate. It doesn't always have to involve trick-or-treating or some of the traditional things we've done," she told KRON4.

Many parents plan on keeping the festivities within their newly created school-learning bubbles, and lighting pumpkins and playing scary movies outside with smaller groups of kids.

After a year in which schooling, sports and summer camps have vanished because of the virus, the prospect of another disappointment for the kids of 2020 is hard to stomach.

There has been a lot of things that have gone away for children, Hansa Bhargava, a pediatrician and the senior medical director of WebMD, told Bloomberg. Thats why I dont want to take one more thing away from them.

Bhargava advises families check the viral spread in their communities before deciding what activity makes sense and to consider less risky alternatives, if possible. She also advised that parents to talk to their kids and help them understand that 2020 is an unusual year.

Find the full CDC guidelines on Halloween here.

Andrew Chamings is an editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings

See the rest here:
Should Bay Area parents send their kids trick-or-treating this year? Here's what we know - SFGate

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero