Halloween during COVID-19

The Town has recieved numerous inquiries regarding Halloween, and how it may be affected this year by COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Council has not enacted or imposed any special restrictions in Town related to COVID-19. Other municipalities have enacted special bylaws, but Cardston's position has always been to follow the guidance given by the Province of Alberta and Alberta Health Services. The province has already provided some recommended precautions for halloween. Please visit their website for information on how to trick-or-treat and celebrate the holiday safely this season.

From https://www.alberta.ca/halloween-during-covid19.aspx

Trick-or-treating
• Choose costumes that allow your child to wear a nonmedical mask. They can wear a mask underneath a
Halloween mask as long as they can see and breathe
comfortably. Make sure it’s comfortable so your child won’t
need to adjust it.
• Go only with family or cohort members and keep a healthy
distance from others.
• Stay in your community to limit the number of people you
come into contact with.
• Carry hand sanitizer and use it after touching touch-points
like doorbells or railings.
• If you can, knock instead of pushing doorbells, or keep 2
metres from the door or porch and call “trick or treat”. Make
sure the person calling is wearing a mask.
• Wait until you’re home and have washed your hands before
handling candy.
Handing out candy
• Print posters from Alberta.ca to hang in your window or
place on your door to let trick-or-treaters know if you’re
handing out treats this year or not.
• Wear a mask and use tongs or a grabber.
• Keep a healthy distance from trick-or-treaters. If possible,
hand out candy from the driveway, open garage, or lawn
instead of your front door.
• Ask trick-or-treaters to knock instead of ringing the doorbell.
• If you are indoors (school, apartment building, or mall) use a
table or desk to keep a safe distance from trick-or-treaters
(e.g. school classroom, apartment building, mall)
• Avoid handling treats
- Use prepackaged candy (no homemade treats)
- Hand treats out directly from the package they came in
- Don’t leave self-serve bowls of bulk candy
- Make candy bundles/bags and space them out on a
table or blanket for trick-or-treaters to take
• Get creative! Build a candy slide down your front steps
or railing! Build a (safe) candy catapult! There are many
fun ways to hand out treats while maintaining physical
distance.
Attending a party (adults and kids)
• Spend time with people you know. The smaller the group
the better.
• If possible, host your party outside. It’s easier to keep a
healthy distance between guests and there’s better air
circulation. (See guidance for “Outdoor Events”)
• If the party is indoors, keep it small and maintain 2 metres
away from people in other families and cohorts. (See
guidance for “Indoor Events”)
• Don’t share drinks, snacks, cigarettes, vapes or cannabis
– and no bobbing for apples!
• Choose games and activities that don’t involve sharing
items, and allow for distancing.
- Set up art and craft stations so that each guest has
their own materials (no sharing).
- Instead of face painting, hand out temporary tattoos or
stickers that guests can put on themselves.
- Make sure any shared items are sanitized between
uses.
- Wash or sanitize your hands often. Have hand sanitizer
easily accessible.