Adults may look at the months ahead and worry about the election, holiday plans and where their county falls on reopening tiers. Kids just want to know if they are going to get free candy on Halloween.
Public health officials in the Bay Area have made it clear that the kind of activities that may increase the risk of spreading the coronavirus should be avoided, including door-to-door trick-or-treating and attending indoor gatherings.
But in a year when we have adapted to working in our pajamas, eating five-star meals on dirty sidewalks and watching baseball games in stadiums packed with cardboard cutouts, it feels like we can also fashion a pandemic-friendly version of Halloween.
“We encourage families to find creative and socially distant ways to celebrate,” said Joseph Sweiss, the joint information officer of San Francisco’s COVID-19 Command Center, offering a list of suggestions that include going overboard decorating your home, hosting virtual pumpkin-carving contests and watching scary movies as a family.
While infectious disease experts agree that Halloween will be different this year, there are ways to keep traditions alive, as long as everyone adheres to established protective measures such as masking, social distancing and hand sanitizing
“COVID-19 continues to pose an important risk,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California health and human services secretary, noting that even though California’s case rates and hospitalization numbers may be on a downtrend, the surges in other parts of the country and around the world are of concern. “We must not let our guard down.”
With that in mind, here are other suggestions from the experts.
Stay outside: Many traditional Halloween activities happen outdoors, which is a good thing. The experts say the risk of infectious transmission is lower outside than inside because virus particles tend to scatter and dilute quickly in the air.
You can safely put on a costume, pull out some tables and chairs in front of your house and carve pumpkins while waving to your neighbors. Under the state’s new small-gatherings guidelines, you can also get together with up to three pods for two hours, as long as everyone remains at least 6 feet apart.
“Being outdoors is an important part of our guidance,” Ghaly said.
Remember to wear a face covering that will protect you from spreading the virus at all times, even if you are outside, as a creepy rubber mask will not work to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Avoid crowds: The biggest risk on Halloween night will be areas where large groups of people from different households congregate. That is why federal, state and local authorities discourage people from trick-or-treating door to door.
In cities like San Francisco and Alameda, the risk of people from mixed households packing sidewalks and doorways is too high.
A study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examining more than 20,000 positive cases, found only 461 were the result of transmission in outdoor environments. Those clusters were traced to crowded events like markets and rallies.
“Being outside is not magic,” said George Rutherford, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. “If you are going to be a foot away from someone coughing and hacking, the likelihood of airborne transmission is greater.”
Focus on activities around family: There are simple ways to experience Halloween with members of your household or pod.
Officials suggest setting up a projector outside to watch a scary movie; organizing a socially distanced costume parade for smaller kids on your block; or leading them on a neighborhood scavenger hunt where they can seek things like skeletons, jack-o-lanterns and spiders.
“I think we need to acknowledge that family and friends need to see each other, especially in California ... where we have been doing well,” said Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease doctor and researcher with UCSF.
Yes, you can still have candy: Trick-or-treating may be discouraged by public officials, but there are ways to safely give and get candy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its guidelines that one-way trick-or-treating, where individually wrapped goody bags are lined up on the edge of a driveway or yard for families to grab and go while maintaining social distance, is a moderate-risk activity.
As an alternative, some neighborhoods can organize progressive Halloween events that include only known contacts. Each sets up an outdoor station and families move from door to door, one at a time, collecting treats and engaging in small activities.
“I would allow trick-or-treating with the same restrictions in place we are recommending for any setting,” Gandhi said. “It has to be with masks and in environments that are not crowded.”
The state guidelines do not necessarily support these ideas, so it will fall on individuals to assess their risk.
“The whole act of going door to door, in groups, ringing doorbells, digging into buckets of delicious candy creates a risk of spreading COVID-19,” Ghaly said. “The fact that positive cases are hard to discover and really challenging to contact trace also pose challenges that we feel like are too great.”
Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
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