With Halloween right around the corner, the NC Department of Health has issued guidelines for families and North Carolinians alike to help plan fun, yet safe, Halloween festivities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines include a list of activities ranked from low to high risk, followed by tips + tricks to help you get the most out of your spooky adventures this weekend.

Low-risk activities

👻 Carving or decorating pumpkins
👻 Decorating your living space
👻 Hosting a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt (think: Easter-egg hunt)
👻 Competing in a virtual costume contest
👻 Enjoying a Halloween movie night with people you live with

Moderate-risk activities

🎃 Low touch trick-or-treating
🎃Providing individually-wrapped goodie bags for families to grab
🎃 Gently tossing candy to trick-or-treaters, from a distance
🎃 Using a “candy chute” or tube to pass candy from your porch to trick-or-treaters
🎃 Reverse trick-or-treating: children dress in their costumes and stay at their house or front yard and neighbors walk or drive by to drop off candy
🎃 Participating in an open-air costume parade
🎃 Hosting a costume party outdoors with face coverings
🎃 Setting up an outdoor Halloween movie night

High-risk activities

🧟‍♂️Traditional trick-or-treating
🧟‍♂️Trunk-or-treat events in parking lots
🧟‍♂Crowded costume parties held indoors

Tips + Tricks

☠️ Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask
☠️ A costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask
☠️ For organized events, provide hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol for participants
☠️ Families and guests should be encouraged to self-monitor for symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath + be aware that a person can become infectious before they become ill, or without becoming ill