To minimize the spread of COVID-19 and ensure children have a fun, safe Halloween, the County of San Diego offers guidance
for the most common activities to protect you and your loved ones.
Halloween Activities
Not Allowed
– In-person events or parties containing more than 3 households are not permitted, even if they are conducted outdoors. Remember, the smaller the number of people, the safer.
– Carnivals, festivals, petting zoos, and live entertainment are not allowed because frequent interaction with high-touch surfaces by children and participants increase the risk of infection to the community.
Not Recommended
– Close contact, door-to-door trick-or-treating or “trunk-or-treating,” and leaving bowls of candy for others to grab is not recommended, because it is difficult to maintain proper social distancing guidelines.
– Haunted Houses are not recommended because they put an increased amount of people in typically tight, poorly ventilated areas that make it difficult to maintain 6-feet of distance from others.
Recommended
– Online parties/contests (e.g., costume or pumpkin carving) and drive-through events and car parades.
– Dressing up homes and yards with Halloween-themed decorations.
– Halloween movie nights with your own household or at drive-in theaters.
– Pumpkin patches where people use hand sanitizer and maintain 6-feet of distance from others.
Safer Alternatives
Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween listed below, as well as on the California Department of Public Health’s website.
– Make fall recipes and crafts as a family for creative dinners and spooky decorations.
– Participate in drive-through events or contests where individuals dress up or decorate their vehicles and receive scores from “judges” that are maintaining appropriate physical distance.
– Visit pick-your-own fruit/vegetable operations that follow California Department of Food and Agriculture guidelines.
– Participate in one-way trick-or-treating, where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard).
– Consider distributing treats other than candy, which parents can then sanitize before giving to kids: stickers in cellophane packaging, pencils, mini pumpkins, erasers, etc.
Personal Protection Measures
However you celebrate, please continue to follow the County of San Diego Public Health Order, California Department of Public Health Guidance and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Halloween Guidelines, maintain safe distance and wear a face covering to keep children and adults safe. To stay safe during the 2020 Halloween holiday, please remember to:
• Wash or sanitize your hands often.
• Clean frequently touched items regularly.
• Avoid close contact – stay at least 6 feet away from all other people who are not part of your own household.
• Avoid indoor spaces that don’t allow for easy distancing of at least 6 feet between you and others and follow state
guidance for outdoor private gatherings of up to 3 households.
• Correctly wear an appropriate face covering to prevent disease spread when outside your home and around others that are not part of your household.
• Stay home and away from others, if you are sick, or you have been in contact with someone who is sick with or has symptoms of COVID-19.
For questions, please contact SafeReopeningComplianceTeam@sdcounty.ca.gov.
C o u n t y o f S a n D i e g o G u i d a n c e f o r C e l e b r a t i n g H a l l o w e e n
d u r i n g t h e C O V I D -1 9 P a n d e m i c
http://www.coronavirus-sd.com
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