Health Department urges folks to do something different for Halloween

With Halloween on Saturday, the Flathead City County Health Department is urging folks to make different plans and do different activities to avoid spreading coronavirus. They include:

• Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them

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

• Decorating your house, apartment, or living space

• 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 virtual Halloween costume contest

• Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with

• Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house

The Centers for Disease Control considers traditional trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treating to be a higher risk activity for COVID-19 transmission. For those who choose to partake in trick-or-treating, the CDC has also put out the following guidance in order to make the activity safer:

• Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters

• Give out treats outdoors, if possible

• Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take

• Wash hands before handling treats

• Wear a mask