The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines recommending against traditional Halloween activities this fall due to the pandemic.

The agency says Halloween staples like door-to-door trick-or-treating, crowded costume parties, and haunted houses are considered higher risk for transmitting COVID-19.

Other higher risk activities listed by the CDC include:

  • Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
  • Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
  • Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19

The CDC lists a number of moderate risk and lower-risk Halloween activities to use as alternatives for high risk activities.

Moderate risk activities listed by the CDC include:

  • Having a small group, outdoor, open-air costume parade where people are distanced more than 6 feet apart
  • Attending a costume party held outdoors where protective masks are used and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
  • Going to an open-air, one-way, walk-through haunted forest where appropriate mask use is enforced, and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
  • Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing
  • Having an outdoor Halloween movie night with local family friends with people spaced at least 6 feet apart

Lower risk activities listed by the CDC include:

  • Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
  • 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
Additionally, the CDC makes specific recommendations about costume masks and the risks involved with screaming and social distancing.
 
The CDC strongly recommends that costume masks can not and should not be used as a substitute for a protective mask. "A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and doesn’t leave gaps around the face," the agency's guidelines read.
 
"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," the guidelines add. "Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask."
 
If screams are involved in your Halloween celebration, such as at an "open-air, one-way, walk-through haunted forest where appropriate mask use is enforced," or an "outdoor Halloween movie night with local family friends with people spaced at least 6 feet apart," the CDC recommends greater social distancing.